144 THE ESSEX NATURALIST
Broadstrood, but single specimens have been recorded in most
areas of the Forest even along the road verges.
We find that 95% of the males taken have broken tails and
scars caused by the battles that occur between males prior
to the breeding season. Females are usually intact. The male is
a more heavily-built creature than the female having a much
larger head and tending to be more of a slate grey or a dark
brown colour, whereas the female has a more delicate head with a
definite neck and is usually of a coppery hue and frequently has
darker lines running down the body.
Common Lizard (Lacerta vivipara)
This lizard still continues to be an abundant and widely dis-
tributed reptile in the Forest. Although not recorded south of
Buckhurst Hill or Chingford Station we would not be at all
surprised if it were found adjacent to Walthamstow or Leyton-
stone as the ground in these areas is eminently suitable and there
is adequate food to be found.
Although numbers of lizards must have been killed by the
fires of 1959, it is pleasant to note that they were the first reptiles
to return to the devastated areas as soon as sufficient vegetation
appeared. Since that time there has been a steady increase in
numbers each year and we were pleased to note that in August
1961 that year's young were both abundant and widespread.
The Common Lizard appears in all parts of the Forest and
does not favour any particular locality, being as common on the
heather of Sunshine Plain as it is on the marshy parts of Broad-
strood, Rushey and Wake Valley Plains and populating the road-
side verges and hedges bounding agricultural land. Marshy and
damp places are especially favoured by the females prior to bear-
ing their young, and often pregnant females will be found under a
damp log or around a water-filled gully.
The young are born in a brownish coloured "envelope" and
deposited in clumps of six to eight in a damp spot. Usually they
will emerge from the egg case almost immediately but sometimes
this procedure will take nearly an hour. They are at once active
and self-supporting.
The Common Lizard, like the Slow-worm, must be handled
with care as both tend to shed their tails, this being one means of
defence. In most cases this will not occur provided the tail is
not held, but some reptiles appear to discard their tails from sheer
fright.
There is considerable variation in colour and marking in this
lizard, the males being brighter during the breeding season. The
ventral surface is a bright orange compared with a creamy yellow
in the female.
Some are plentifully marked with spots and lines on a light or
dark brown surface, and others have no markings at all appearing
to have a greenish tinge from which the sun reflects a coppery
lustre. Again on others the green markings are quite clear and I