48 



THE SAND LIZARD. 



beaiitif ill than the emerald green hues of this Lizard, as the sunbeams flash and glitter on its 

 resplendent surface. 



It is susceptible of kindness, and can soon be tamed by those who choose to take the 

 trouble of familiarizing themselves with their bright and lively favorite. Although sufficiently 

 bold and apt to bite if it fancies itself aggrieved, it can be so thoroughly tamed that it 

 will come and take flies out of the hand. In France and other countries this pretty harmless 

 little creature is greatly dreaded, the popular belief attributing to it sundry destructive powers 

 of the same nature as those which our rustic population believe to be exercised by the com- 

 mon newt. 



The color of this beautiful creature is rich shining green above, a little blue sometimes 

 appearing upon the head, and the quality of the green being rather variable in different 



GREEN LIZARD. Lacerta mridis. 



individuals. A multitude of little golden spots are also perceptible on the back, and similar 

 dots of black are not unfrequently sprinkled over the surface. Underneath, the green fades 

 into a yellower hue. 



UNTIL comparatively later years, the SAND LIZARD was confounded with the scaly Lizard, 

 which has recently been described. 



This reptile is extremely variable in size and coloring, so variable, indeed, that it has 

 often been separated into several species. Two varieties seem to be tolerably permanent, the 

 brown and the green ; the former, as it is believed, being found upon sandy heaths where the 

 brown hues of the ground assimilate with those of the reptile, and the green variety on grass 

 and more verdant situations, where the colors of the vegetation agree with those of the body. 



Though quick and lively in its movements, it is not so dashingly active as the scaly 

 Lizard, having a touch of deliberation as it runs from one spot to another, while the scaly 

 Lizard seems almost to be acted upon by hidden springs. It does not bear confinement well, 

 and in spite of its diminutive size and feeble powers, will attempt to bite the hand which dis- 

 turbs it in a place whence it cannot escape. When it finds itself hopelessly imprisoned, it 

 loses all appetite for its food, hides itself in the darkest comer of its strange domicile, and 

 before many days have passed, is generally found lying dead on the ground. 



