Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes Versicolor)

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A few days ago while visiting an Eco park in Laharpur (Bhopal) I happened upon this sober-sides reptile. It goes by many names - Changeable lizard, Eastern lizard, Oriental lizard or Crested tree lizard and its found all over Asia. It can change its body color to red, black or a mixture of both.

It is insectivorous but also eats the occasional rodent or lizard. During breeding season the males become incredibly defensive of their territories. They try to ward off trespassers by brightening their red heads (which they get during breeding season) and by doing push-ups! And for the females they inflate their throats to attract their attention to the red head.

Even though this a lizard species, they do not drop their tails like other lizards. In fact their tails are strict, long and pointy and can measure up to more than 20 centimeters!

 You might even spot it in your garden or a park nearby just sitting on a tree changing its color and confuse it with a chameleon, I know I did.

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