His Leafy Refuge

This green anole lizard has found his perfect hiding spot. Anole lizards are found throughout the eastern United States and into Texas. These beautiful creatures are often spotted on sunny walls and tree trunks early in the day, where they are warming up their bodies. They also spend much of their time hunting for insects in shrubs and trees, where they are able hide by adjusting their coloration to match their surroundings. Using their ability to change their body color to shades from green to brown helps them to avoid predators by blending in with their surroundings. I saw this particular lizard, camouflaged in the surrounding leaves, yet he was easy for me to see because of the glowing red dewlap under his head, which the male displays when trying to attract a female of the species. He puts on quite a show to appeal to the lady lizards!