This is a tiny hatchling, no more than an inch and a half long including its tail. I found it while tagging along with one of Dr. Peter May's ornithology field trips. Modern evolutionary theory tells us that birds are really reptiles (more closely related to other reptile groups than crocodilians are), so looking for non-feathered reptiles on a bird trip seems reasonable to me.

These used to be considered as belonging to the subspecies Sceloporus undulatus undulatus, but recent studies have concluded that there are no natural subspecies in S. undulatus.

Two and a half years later, I saw my second Sceloporus undulatus about twenty feet away from where I saw my first. Once again, I was there with Dr. Peter May and his colleague Dr. Terry Farrell, and once again, the lizard was a juvenile (though a little larger than the first one).

Here's a nice big cooperative adult posing for me along the rim of the fantastic Tallulah Gorge. Back in the day, this lizard would have been considered a member of the now-obsolete subspecies Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthus.

This is a juvenile, looking pretty much exactly like a juvenile Western Fence Lizard. If the twain ever did meet, who would know?