I4O ANIMAL LIFE OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Sand Lizard (Lacerta agilis. Linn.). 



At a glance there is little beyond its superior size to dis- 

 tinguish the Sand Lizard from the Common Lizard ; and in 

 consequence the earlier records of its occurrence in certain 

 localities have had to be severely revised. It appears to have 

 been the rule of many recorders, when specimens of the 

 common species that exceeded average proportions were 

 captured, to put them down as Sand Lizards without any 

 critical examination. The truth is that as a British species 

 the Sand Lizard is found only in certain restricted localities 

 in the southern counties of Dorset, Hampshire, and Surrey, 

 and the sandhills by the sea in Lancashire and Cheshire. Its 

 southern habitats agree almost exactly with those of the 

 Smooth Snake, for which it provides a favourite food. It is not 

 found either in Scotland or Ireland. 



The adult male of the Sand Lizard is about seven and a half 

 inches long, of which more than half is tail. The female is 

 about half an inch longer, but the additional measure is added 

 to the body, for the tail is less than half of the whole length. 

 The general colouring may be described as a sandy-brown, 

 with broken bands of darker tint. There is, of course, a con- 

 siderable amount of colour variation, and in the males there is 

 a marked tendency to a green suffusion, which in many cases 

 is so pronounced as to lead to a belief that the examples in 

 question are the non-indigenous Green Lizard (Lacerta viridis). 

 It was, no doubt, some markedly green males of the Sand 

 Lizard which Gilbert White saw " on a sunny sandbank, near 

 Farnham, in Surrey," and thought were true Green Lizards. 

 There are rows of dark and white spots along the sides of the 

 back, flank, and tail, which give the appearance of longitudinal 

 stripes. The green of the male is more pronounced during the 

 breeding season (May-June) when it is also evident in the 

 usual black dotted yellow of the underside. The black spots 



