NAME OF MONITOR 
useful to them than greater brilliancy of colour. They 
are all of them fiercely carnivorous, and they do not 
despise carrion ; even the remains of mortals who have 
undergone tree “ burial ’’ in the East are apt to be de- 
voured, while small mammals and other creeping things 
are readily eaten. The monitor of the Nile is particularly 
meter, 
i 
ho 
ve 
\ 
Wille BEY 
Mss 
(re 
) 
CA Nag 
——= 
MONITOR LIZARD. 
fond of crocodiles’ eggs. The examples at the Zoo are 
often given eggs, which they swallow cleverly without 
breaking the shell and spilling the contents. For the | 
name monitor several explanations have been given ; | 
the one most in favour is perhaps that it is due to a mis- | 
understanding of the Arabic word for the lizard. Another 
is, that it gives notice of the approach of a crocodile. In | 
connexion with this legend, it is remarkable that the 
246 
