THE LIZARD. (Lacerta vivipara.)
This is a British species, and is one of the very few reptiles found in Ireland. Its movements are most graceful. It comes out of its hiding-place during the day to bask in the sun, and when it sees an insect it darts like lightning upon it, seizing it with its sharp little teeth, and soon swallowing it. The young are produced in eggs, which are generally hatched the moment they are laid, the skin of the egg being so thin that the young Lizard can be seen through it.
The Green Lizard (Lacerta viridis) is a beautiful creature. Its colours are more brilliant and beautiful than those of any other European species, and exhibit a rich and varied mixture of darker and lighter green, interspersed with specks and marks of yellow, brown, black, and sometimes even red. The head is covered with large angular scales, and the rest of the upper parts with very small ones. The tail is generally much longer than the body. Beneath the throat there is a kind of collar, formed by scales of much darker colour than the rest of the animal.
The Lizard seems occasionally to lay aside its natural gentleness of disposition, but no further than for the purpose of obtaining food. Mr. Edwards once surprised a Lizard in the act of fighting with a small bird, as she sat on her nest in a vine against a wall, with newly-hatched young. He supposed that the Lizard would have made a prey of the latter, could it have driven the old bird from her nest. He watched the contest for some time; but, on his near approach, the Lizard dropped to the ground, and the bird flew off.
THE IGUANA, (Iguana tuberculata,)
Which is found commonly in the tropical parts of America, is a large kind of lizard, often measuring four or five feet in length. It has a crest of long teeth, looking like a comb, along its back; its tail is long, tapering, and slender; and beneath its throat it has a sort of pouch which it can dilate considerably. The colour of this lizard is greenish, with brown bands on the tail. The Iguana is found in trees, and feeds chiefly on fruits and other vegetable substances. It is usually caught when reposing upon a branch, and by a very simple process: the hunter approaches it whistling, and the animal is stupid enough to sit still, no doubt enjoying the music, until a noose, attached to the end of a stick, is passed over its head. It is captured for the sake of its flesh, which is regarded as very delicate.
An Iguana, which was kept for some time in a hothouse at Bristol, was fed on the leaves of kidney bean plants, which it devoured eagerly, after refusing every other kind of food that had been offered it. It seems certain that Iguanas in their natural state are not entirely herbivorous, but feed on insects, the eggs of birds, and other animal matter, as well as on plants. They will occasionally take to the water, and seem to swim with ease. Notwithstanding its repulsive and even frightful appearance, the Iguana is perfectly harmless and inoffensive.