CHAPTEK VII 



THE SAND LIZARD, LACERTA AGILIS 



DISTRIBUTION DESCRIPTION HAUNTS HABITS 



FOOD COLOUR VARIATION REPRODUCTION. 



Distribution. — The sand lizard, like the common 

 lizard, is widely distributed in Europe, but must be 

 regarded as an inhabitant of the plains rather than 

 of the mountains. It is especially found, that is, in 

 low-lying land. It occurs in Germany, Switzerland, 

 Poland, the North of Eussia, Siberia ; but in the 

 British Isles it is limited in its distribution to a 

 few of the most southern counties. A good deal of 

 confusion exists in the minds of field naturalists on 

 this point, specimens of the common viviparous lizard 

 frequently being recorded as sand lizards, the reason 

 for this mistake undoubtedly being that the great 

 range of colour variation seen in the latter is not 

 sufficiently well known. It is too generally assumed 

 by those who are not familiar with the appearance of 

 both species that any light brown or sandy-coloured 

 lizard must be a sand lizard, which is far from 



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