Common Lizard Zootoca vivipara

The Common Lizard (Zootoca vivipara) is Britain’s most widespread reptile, found across a broad range of open, sunny habitats from heathland and coastal grassland to railway embankments and woodland rides. Unlike most reptiles, it gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs. In Suffolk, it is most strongly associated with the Sandlings heathlands and coastal grasslands, where open, sunny conditions and a mosaic of short and taller vegetation provide basking sites, shelter, and invertebrate prey. It has declined across many former sites due to habitat loss and fragmentation, and maintaining well-structured, sunny heathland and grassland through appropriate management is important for sustaining county populations. Image: © Paul Kitchener, Flickr.

Find out more: Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, iNaturalist