once
recognised it as the long-looked-for male of Mr. Gray's recently
described female. It is abundant in all the uncultivated portions of
Ceylon; coming out into the open spaces to feed in the mornings and
evenings. Mr. Blyth states that there can be no doubt that Hardwicke's
published figure refers to the hen of this species, long afterwards
termed G. Lafayetti.

Galloperdix bicalcaratus. Not uncommon in suitable situations.

CHAP. IX.

REPTILES.

LIZARDS. _Iguana_.--One of the earliest, if not the first remarkable
animal to startle a stranger on arriving in Ceylon, whilst wending his
way from Point-de-Galle to Colombo, is a huge lizard of from four to
five feet in length, the _Talla-goy[=a]_ of the Singhalese, and
Iguana[1] of the Europeans. It may be seen at noonday searching for ants
and insects in the middle of the highway and along the fences; when
disturbed, but by no means alarmed, by the approach of man, it moves off
to a safe distance; and, the intrusion being at an end, it returns again
to the occupation in which it had been interrupted. Repulsive as it is
in appearance, it is perfectly harmless, and is hunted down by dogs in
the maritime provinces, and its delicate flesh, which is believed to be
a specific in dysentery, is converted into curry, and its skin into
shoes. When seized, it has the power of inflicting a smart blow with its
tail. The Talla-goy[=a] lives in almost any convenient hollow, such as a
hole in the ground, or a deserted nest of the termites; and some small
ones, which frequented my garden at Colombo, made their retreat in the
heart of a decayed tree.

[Footnote 1: Monitor dracaena, _Linn._ Among the barbarous nostrums of
the uneducated natives, both Singhalese and Tamil, is the tongue of the
iguana, which they regard as a specific for consumption, if plucked from
the living animal and swallowed whole.]

A still larger species, the _Kabara-goy[=a]_[1], is partial to marshy
ground, and when disturbed upon land, will take refuge in the nearest
water. From the somewhat eruptive appearance of the yellow blotches on
its scales, a closely allied species, similarly spotted, formerly
obtained amongst naturalists the name of _Monitor exanthematicus_, and
it is curious that the native appellation of this one, _kabara_[2], is
suggestive of the same idea. The Singhalese, on a strictly homoeopathic
principle, believe that its fat, externally applied, is a cure for
cutaneous disorders, b