This time of year there are a ton of baby blue belly lizards. This one became Adrian's garden buddy for the afternoon when he crawled onto his finger and didn't let go. Adrian watered the garden while little lizard buddy chilled on his finger. He tried to let him go, but the dude wouldn't crawl away. I guess he liked the warmth of Adrian's hand. Cute little cold blooded friends. They help control the ant parades in the garden as well as make us laugh when they jump from stone to stone all free style. Oh, and the push ups too! Why do lizards do push ups? When lizards want to communicate, they don't sing or call. Instead, they do push-ups.
A little on the subject I found online:
...Much as birds chirp their threats and come-ons and commentaries, lizards in the western United States communicate through little flex fests. Both male and female lizards rise off their bellies and bob up and down...They're incredibly complex. Depending on the details, a set of push-ups may indicate something like "Get your presumptuous rear off my rock this instant" or "Be mine, you gorgeous creature."
Giving a quick lesson in how to speak basic push-up, scientists explains the fundamental conversation topics: wooing, warring, and arriving at a really great rock. If you're a male and want to convey romantic intentions, do five to nine pushups in a hurry and keep your scary blue belly patch from showing.
So there you have it. Lizards are neat.
