The true land-creepers, like our little Scaly Lizard,[81] lurk in dry woody places, and on heaths and banks, darting out on the unwary insects. Many of them lay their eggs in the warm sand or earth, but the Scaly lizard carries them till they are ready to break, so that the young ones come out lively and active as the eggs are laid. Others have taken to the water, and among these are the Monitors of Africa and Australia, which feed on frogs and fish and crocodiles’ eggs, and are so strong and fierce that they often drag larger animals under the water. Some are tree and wall climbers, such as the “Geckos,” with thick tongues and dull mottled skins, and they have sharp claws and suckers under their toes, so that they can hang or walk upside down, on ceilings or overhanging rocks, or on the smooth trunks of trees; and they love to chase the insects in the hot sultry nights, tracking them to their secret haunts. They are far more active than the large gentle Iguanas or Tree-Lizards of South America, from a few inches to five feet long, which may be seen among the branches of the trees of Mexico, their beautiful scales glistening in the sun as they feed on the flowers and fruit. They swarm on all sides in those rich forest regions, scampering over the ground, and then clinging with their claws to the tree-bark as they gradually mount up into the dense foliage; and they have many advantages, for not only can they climb to great heights out of the reach of beasts of prey, but they can also swim well, having been known to fling themselves from the overhanging branches into the water below when danger was near. They do not, moreover, descend as gracefully as the “Flying Lizards” of the East Indies, which have a fold of skin stretched from the lengthened ends of their hinder ribs, so that they sail from branch to branch as they chase the butterflies and other insects.