Among the true lizards is a pretty little creature known as the green
Carolina anolis. It is especially daring; not only refusing to run away
at the approach of man, but will enter houses, and run about the room in
search of flies. It is very active, climbing trees, and leaping from
branch to branch in its search for insects, of which it destroys great
numbers. It is about seven inches long--mostly of a beautiful green
above, with white below; and it has a white throat-pouch, which
generally appears with a few bars of red upon it, but when inflated the
colour spreads over the whole surface.
Mr Gosse describes one which he saw running about among the branches of
a sassafras, just as it had seized a grasshopper. He caught the
creature, which was then of a green hue; but, on placing it on an old
log, the colour changed to a brownish-black. He was told, that if
placed on a green leaf it would again become green. In a short time,
after remaining in the sunshine, it changed once more to green. Again
it became almost black; and shutting it up in a desk, after half an hour
he was no less surprised than delighted to see the lizard of a brilliant
green, the line down the back only being blackish.
When the animal is excited, the pouch, swelling out, becomes of a
crimson colour. It is covered with excessively small--scarcely
perceptible--scales.
These little creatures are at times very quarrelsome, and will fight
together, frequently both the combatants losing their tails in the
contest; while their pouches swell out as they leap at each other and
struggle furiously.