192 THE HABITS OF MALAY REPTILES. 
route, so that when they appear in the Gardens one knows ex- 
actly which tree one will find them on. When they alight on a 
tree they run up, puffing out and contracting the conical pouch 
in the throat, which is bright yellow in the male and blue in the 
female, and licking up the ants, which form their chief food. 
When they have climbed sufficiently high, they spring off again 
spreading the wings (which are expansions of skin on the elonga- 
ted ribs) after they are in the air, and closing them as they alight, 
Though they usually go in straight lines, they can swerve in 
their flight, apparently by lying slightly over on one side or 
the other. I have seen one avoid a bush which was in its line 
of flight in this way. The distance that they can cover depends 
on the height from the ground of the point from which they 
spring, for as in the case of all animals that fly in this manner 
(the Hying squirrel and flying lemur), they descend in their 
flicght ; but the longest flight I have measured was twenty-five 
yards, from a height of not more than fifteen. ‘These animals 
are able to change colour, as the Ca/otes does, the blue orna- 
mental patch on the head disappearing, and the whole lizard be- 
coming of a brown hue, except the pouch, which retains its 
colour. 
D. volans is by far the commonest species here, but there 
are four or five other kinds to be met with, which generally 
occur in thick forests, and are very difficult to collect, as they 
very quickly fly out of reach, and can only be obtained with the 
un. 
i: The common Scinc, AI/abuia multifasciata, a stout brown me- 
tallic lizard, ornamented with a glowing red patch alone the side 
just below the head, is very abundant in the grass and along 
drains, creeping about when the-sun is bright and hiding in 
holes and under roots when alarmed. When closely pursued by 
a dog, the Scinc will sometimes take to a tree, climbing up well 
out of reach, and when roughly handled it sheds its tail, as do 
the Geckos, the tail skipping about very actively for some min- 
utes after it drops. It readily takes to water, diving in when 
frightened and remaining a long time below the surface. Besides 
this common Scinc, there are one other J/abuia and seven smal- 
ler scincs of the genus Lygosoma recorded from the peninsula, 
most of which are either very scarce or difficult to find or very 
