1881.] A Fartial Biography of the Green Lizard, 97 
This expansion, of which ordinarily there is no trace, is not 
inflated, but is a flattened disc about an inch in diameter. It is 
orange-red in reflected, and crimson in transmitted light. At this 
time the lizard is a beautiful sight, the body being green above 
and white below, and the vivid dew-lap edged with white. 
I have seen them bowing several times, but they scamper off 
on finding themselves watched; and even in the midst of their 
ceremonious courtship, if a fly comes near they dart after it like 
a flash of green light. 
There is a difference in the change of color in the two speci- 
mens, and the same cause does not affect them alike. The 
female, in the day time, is generally dark-brown, or drab, speckled 
with white, and has a lighter dorsal line. Sometimes, however, 
she is grayish. When very dark, even the under side is brown, 
but when lighter colored the under side is gray, or white, But 
at night she becomes some shade of green, rarely a pale-green. 
Once or twice during July I have seen her green in the day time. 
On the other hand the male is generally pale-green. Their 
colors are different shades of green, yellow and brown. When 
changing, the coming color does not suffuse the entire body at 
once, but first appears on the legs and sides of the head and the 
body, the dorsal line and tail often remaining darker long after 
the other parts are light-colored. 
When they are green, yellow, or drab above, they are white » 
below ; when dark-brown, a lighter shade of the same color below; _ 
and sometimes I have seen them a uniform dark brown. Occa- — 
sionally, the light-green color remains on the eye-lids and a few 
scattered scales of the body, after the other portions have become 
brown. They do not always grade regularly from brown, through 
yellow, to green, but sometimes change from dark-brown to pale- 
green and white, without showing yellowish. The bronze (yel- 
low) is the rarest color, and is very seldom assumed by the female. 
They change from one color to another in from two to eight 
minutes, and one changed from green to light-brown, then back 
to green again, in five minutes. 
I see no reason, as yet, for this changing of color, for it comes 
regardless of the object on which they are placed, or amount of 
light and darkness. They become green or light-brown when placed 
in sun-light, but also assume the same colors in the darkest room. 
When disturbed, they sometimes get darker, and at other times do 
