bittersweet summer
the doves have flown from the nest
Dear Gary: Our backyard is home to a great number of small, cute lizards that we have watched grow up and prosper over several years. They appear to be “blue bellies,” the kind I used to enjoy playing with as a kid in Southern California many years ago.
We love them and are glad they are comfortable with us. Can you help us understand them better?
Bob and Jacquelin
Walnut Creek
Dear Bob and Jacqueline: Blue bellies, aka Western fence lizards, are probably the most common lizard to be found in Bay Area backyards, followed by the good-old-boy alligator lizards.
I also played with them when I was young, as has just about every other kid on the block.
Here are your answers:
These push-ups can be actual mating displays by male fence lizards. The push-ups allow them to flash those sexy blue markings on their bellies at any interested females.
The push-ups are also territorial displays to other males. Flashing those blue bellies to another male indicates a lizard is ready and willing to defend its territory.
Fence lizards are great to have around the garden because they eat a lot of insects that also eat your garden vegetables.
Be sure to wave and say hi the next time you see one in your yard.
Iris needs a home
Please call Lee at 925-698-4248, or email her at if you have room in your heart and home for Iris.
Dear Gary: We heard some whistling sounds the other morning. I kept thinking it was my husband calling the dog, and he kept thinking it was me.
Turns out the whistle came from a bobwhite hen. It was the classic “bob-bob-white sound,” and the bird was eating plums in our backyard. Are these birds native to California?
I haven’t seen or heard one before.
Nitu
San Ramon
Dear Nitu: Bobwhites don’t occur naturally in California, but there are a few around here and there, usually escapees from backyard aviaries.
They have a neat call.
Contact Gary Bogue at ; or write Gary, P.O. Box 8099, Walnut Creek, CA 94596.
Lizards, with their extraordinary variations, have helped transform what ecologists thought possible in a single species.
Boasting more than 7,000 different types, the reptiles are found around the world and range widely in size, scale and—often bizarre—abilities.
Martin Whiting, professor of animal behavior at Sydney's Macquarie University, gave Newsweek his thoughts on why lizards are of enduring interest to experts.
He said: "Lizards have long been a source of fascination to naturalists and scientists alike because of their extreme variation in body size, form, behavior, and the remarkable ways they have adapted to their environments.
"More recently, scientists have used them to understand key life processes, including natural selection. From studies of lizards, we have a far greater understanding of how animals respond to significant changes in their environment, which is a big issue in an era of global warming and urbanization."
Why do lizards do pushups and can they swim? Read on to learn some fascinating facts: from their weird rituals to their hidden talents.
1. Why Do Lizards Do Pushups?
Grabbing another's attention can always be tricky, especially from a distance.
However, lizards have evolved a successful head-turning technique to do just that.
Dr. James Stroud, Postdoctoral Researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, said many lizards have developed an exhausting ritual as they "cannot make noise to communicate."
He told Newsweek: "Some lizards, such as tropical iguanas or American fence lizards, instead do pushups.
"This behavior conveys information about that individual, like how strong and fit they are, as both a warning to potential competitors and to attract potential mates."
2. Some Lizards Wave 'Flags'
Owners of lizards such as the Bearded dragon, will know its name bellies its gentle and relaxed nature, which is known for occasionally giving onlookers an apparently cheerful "wave".
Dr. Stroud said: "Instead of doing pushups, some lizards have evolved a more elaborate way to visually communicate.
"These species are able to extend flaps of skin under their chin, throat fans known as 'dewlaps', and perform beautiful display patterns, advertising their attractiveness to other lizards."
3. Some Lizards Have Sticky Toes
Anyone who has witnessed a reptile scale a wall, building or tree with unnerving ease knows lizards possess some unbelievable climbing skills.
Dr. Stroud states this seemingly gravity-defying ability is because lizards have evolved special anatomy.
He said: "Some lizards, like geckos and Anole lizards, have evolved sticky toes that enable them to hold on better to slippy surfaces high in the treetops, such as the smooth sides of leaves.
"My own research has explored how these sticky features have evolved more than once in different types of lizards."
4. Some Lizards Can 'Fly'
Life is perilous in the jungle, meaning animals unable to fight back against predators must evolve clever new methods of escape.
Dr. Stroud said one lizard has taken the term "fight or flight" to a literal level.
He said: "In the rainforest of southeast Asia, there is a peculiar group of lizards with a unique ability: they can "fly".
"The flying dragon lizards, known as 'Draco', have flaps of skin between their front and hind legs that can be opened out like a parachute, enabling these lizards to glide from tree to tree in the rainforest."
5. Some Lizards Have Green Blood
Like most animals, nearly all lizards have red blood. However, Dr. Stroud points one "peculiar" lizard living deep in the rainforest of Papua New Guinea is an anomaly: its blood runs green.
He said: "The Latin name given to this species represents this weird fact: Prasinohaema [means] Green (Prasino-) blooded (-haema)."
And a study published in 2018 suggests this bizarre lime-green blood has evolved independently several times in lizards.
Experts hope by understanding how these weird reptiles might benefit from green blood may eventually offer insights into human illnesses such as jaundice and malaria.
6. Some Lizards Can Swim Underwater
Dr. Stroud states while most lizards live on land, everywhere from searing deserts to the most humid rainforests "some lizards have evolved to specialize for a wet life."
He said: "In the Galápagos, marine iguanas swim in the sea and dive underwater to feed on algae growing on submerged rocks.
"While in the rainforest of Costa Rica, the aquatic Anole lizard is able to re-breathe air in its lungs like a scuba diver, allowing it to hide underwater when escaping from predators."
7. Some Lizards Can Extend Their Tongues to Catch Food
Standing at the apex of extraordinary animals is the Chameleon, a lizard species able to change its color as a remarkable form of social signalling.
But if that was not incredible enough on its own, the reptiles can also famously flick their long, sticky tongues to catch their meal as it eventually lands.
Dr. Stroud describes this as "a really cool feature", adding: "They are able to shoot out their tongue to catch insects from afar, allowing them to stay hidden and be much more successful hunters."
A 2016 study found this is achieved by the chameleon releasing its tongue muscles, in turn allowing its tongue to spring forward and capture its insect.