314 CIIAXXEL ISLARl) LIZARDS. 



liabilities and credits, and in many other ways display intelli- 

 gence ; but to study their habits and the range of their mental 

 faculties they must be kei)t under observation constantly in 

 their natural habitats and closely and ])atiently watched. 

 The poor sorrow-stricken inmates of a vivarium will furnish 

 but poor material for this purpose, although they are always 

 pretty and interesting. 



In one of the localities I have mentioned as my principal 

 field of observation, viz. : Mr. Dancaster's grounds at vSt. 

 Ouen's, there lived as neighbours three old males. Their 

 dwelling was a sandy hank crowned with salt-bush and draped 

 with couch-grass and milfoil. Tavo of them lived door by 

 door, the other about six feet away. It was a celibate 

 community, and ought to have been a happy one, since no 

 soft-eyed, cream-striped disturber of the peace dwelt within 

 twenty yards. Yet things did not go well. 



One morning I noticed that the two near neighbours were 

 much excited, and intently gazing in the direction of Number 

 Three, often raising themselves fairly erect so as to look over 

 the intervening herbage. From where I stood all three were 

 in view ; the third one apparently very nervous, moving 

 stealthily and watching in the direction of his neighbours. 

 Then somehow he must have betrayed his presence, for in a 

 twinkling the pair were upon him, having seized him before 

 he could reach his burrow. The poor fellow received a 

 terrible biting, and went off home to nurse himself, while the 

 aggressors returned to their ([iiarters to bask in the sun. I 

 did not see the pimished one again that day, but on the 

 folloAving morning there was a repetition of the scene, and 

 again on the third morning, except that this time the 

 persecuted lizard made for the open and disappeared with the 

 tAvo others in hot pursuit. 



It Avas then that for the iirst time I obsei'ved the full 

 leaping poAvers of the Green Lizard. It so happened that 

 there Avere clumps of rushes and couch-grass in the line of 

 flight, and both the pursued and pursuers cleared these clumps 

 in flying leaps that must have covered quite six feet each. I 

 noticed that during the aerial part of their course their legs 

 w ere pressed quite close to the body rearwards. How matters 

 Avere settled or how things liaA e gone on since I do not knoAv, 

 as I left St. Ouen's that evening ; but I trust that Number 

 Three has learnt Avisdom and changed his domicile. 



I regret to have to record that in the southern ])art of 

 Jersey the Green Lizard is becoming very scarce. This is 

 partly due to the dealers, Avho have set a price upon its head, 



