CHAMELEON. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 
Lacerta Chameleon. L. cinerea, pileo piano. Linn. Syst. 
Nat. Gmel. 1 . p. 1009, cauda tereti 
brevi incurva, digitis duobus tribusque 
coadunatis. Linn. Syst. Nat. p. 204. 
Colour gray 5 crown of the head flat j 
tail round, and incurvated 5 five toes 
on each foot joined two and three to- 
gether. 
Chameleon terrestris. Calceol. 
Mas. 058. pi. 001. 
Chameleon. . . . Mus. Lever. ]. p. 194 . Miller dm. 
Phys. p. 22. pi. 11. Shaw Gen. 
Zool. 3. p. 253. pi. 70. 
The long abstinence which the chameleon, in com- 
mon with other lizards, is capable of supporting, 
has given rise to the vulgar opinion that the animal 
lives upon air : this is far from being the case ; 
it feeds upon flies ; and their remains, together 
with the parts of other insects, have been found 
in its stomach. The other property possessed by 
this creature, that of changing the colour of its 
body, appears to be much better ascertained ; and, 
far from resting on a single authority, is supported 
by a learned body of French academicians. The 
