Non-birds of the field III: herps

We didn’t see very many herps (reptiles and amphibians) this summer, and I managed to get pictures of just three. At least they were all pretty charismatic.

Tree frog

Tiny tree frog

Outta here

That big gopher snake I keep posting pictures of

Hide!

Alligator lizard

Rawrr!

Pretty sure this is me he’s biting

4 thoughts on “Non-birds of the field III: herps

    • Cool question. For the juncos, snakes and large lizards might eat eggs, nestlings, and even unwary adults. More indirectly, some herps compete with the juncos for food, since both eat arthropods; others may benefit juncos by eating other junco predators like small rodents.
      For birds in general, herps may be prey as well as predators: herons and egrets will eat frogs, and shrikes will eat anything.

    • Some photos of alligator lizards (courtesy of that great scientific authority, Google) have that red spot, some don’t. Alligator lizards have forked tongues that they use for chemosensing (smelling), like snakes; I can’t find any explicit mention of the red spot though. Any herp experts out there, please chime in!

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