Camouflage Expert

I was walking next to the stone wall alongside our driveway yesterday when all of a sudden the rocks moved. It was pretty subtle and literally made me stop in my tracks.

The first thing I thought was that I’d experienced some sort of vertigo. Then I thought that maybe my eyeglasses had shifted. So, just to be sure, I peered at the spot where I thought I’d seen movement.

What to my wondering eyes should appear but a brown anole (Anole sagrei) that practically blended in with its environment.

It’s a good thing I had my camera with me (I’ve taken to keeping it in my pocket whenever I walk around the house because I’ve missed several good pictures due to my lack of a camera). My photo is angled slightly upward so that his bluish belly can be seen. When viewed directly from above, it was very difficult to separate the lizard from the rock.

Even seen from this angle, the top of his head and his snout just disappear from view.

Ain’t nature grand?

P.S. I no longer pick up brown anoles. I’ve discovered they are prone to peeing or pooping on human hands when picked up.