82 THE BLIND-WORM OR SLOW-WORM 



disappearing quickly when alarmed, and when seized its tail fre- 

 quently snaps off. It feeds upon insects and their larvae, also 

 Crustacea (woodlice). 



The SAND LIZARD (Lacerta agilis) is considerably larger than the 

 common lizard, as it sometimes measures a foot in length. It 

 frequents sandy heaths, and in the sand its eggs, fourteen or fifteen 

 in number, are deposited. The eggs are hatched by the heat of 

 the sun, and the young immediately lead an independent life. 

 During the winter this, also the common lizard, hybernates in a 

 burrow and does not again make its appearance until the spring. 

 It feeds upon insects. 



BLIND-WORM or SLOW- WORM (Anguis fragilis), Fig. 53, belongs 

 to the skink family (Scincida) , and forms a connecting link between 



FIG. 53. THE BLIND-WORM OR SLOW- WORM. 



the lizards and the snakes. Though snake-like in form and having 

 no appearance of external limbs, the bones of the shoulders and 

 pelvis exist in a rudimentary form. It is about i ft. in length, 

 nearly equal in thickness, but rather more slender towards the tail, 

 the tip of which is abrupt. The upper surface is brownish-grey with 

 a silvery sheen, a black line running down the middle of the back, 

 several rows of obscure dark dots being present at the sides, and 

 the under-parts are bluish-black. Eyes very small, but brilliant, 

 hence the name " blind-worm." 



The Blind-worm is found in every part of Great Britain, but not 

 in Ireland. Country people, like Shakespeare, regard it as the 

 " eyeless venomous worm " and have a dread of the " blind-worm's 

 sting," but both without cause, as it rarely bites, and scarcely 

 makes any impression on the skin, its teeth being very small. When 

 frightened, it so stiffens its muscles and becomes so rigid that its 

 tail snaps off with a slight blow ; even its fright is so great sometimes 

 that it leaves this member behind it. Its food consists of worms, 



