152 BRITISH LIZARDS 



Worcestershire, and Shropshire. " The blind-worm is 

 plentiful throughout Shropshire, in such situations as 

 are suitable to its habits, and this too in spite of 

 numbers killed every year by the misdirected zeal of 

 ignorant persons " {Fauna of Shropshire, H. E. Forrest). 

 The common lizard is not nearly so frequently seen as 

 the slow-worm in most parts of the province, and in 

 many parts there are areas of miles in extent in which 

 it appears to be entirely absent. The author saw only 

 one specimen in South Herefordshire and the Monnow 

 Valley in seven years, whilst the slow-worm is very 

 common in the same part. In other parts it occurs 

 more plentifully. 



In Shropshire, Mr. Forrest says of the common 

 lizard that it is fairly common on heathy uplands. 

 The provincial name is Harriman. Mr. J. Steele 

 Elliot reports it as common in the Wyre Forest ; and 

 Mr. Martin Harding says he has seen it frequently 

 along the old Potteries Eailway line, near Shrewsbury 

 {Fauna of Shropshire, H. E. Forrest, p. 189). 



The sand lizard has been reported by several ob- 

 servers as occurring in Shropshire; but Mr. Forrest, 

 who has carefully looked into the matter with Mr. G. 

 A. Boulenger of the British Museum, has come to the 

 conclusion that all these observers were mistaken, and 

 that all the specimens supposed to be of the sand 

 lizard species were in reality Lacerta vivipara. The 

 great variation in colour has led to similar errors in 

 other places. 



