I saw but three of these ordinarily common lizards on this weekend of unseasonably cool temperatures in Tucson. One was on a rock. The second, on a log. The fellow pictured here was the only one actually in a tree. They aren't the most colorful lizards around, but they sure are camouflaged well on trees.

The tree lizards in this part of Arizona used to be placed in the subspecies U. o. linearis, but this subspecies has recently been merged with U. o. schotti, which was formerly considered confined to Mexico.

Willcox Playa is a seasonally marshy ancient lake bed. When we visited it was dry as a bone, and the wildlife was less than abundant. A small number of these tree lizards were our only saurian companions.

This tree lizard relied on its excellent camouflage rather than running away when I drew near. But I saw it and took its picture, so I guess its excellent camouflage failed. Good thing I don't eat lizards.

Most of the tree lizards I've seen in the "Red Rock Country" of this section of Arizona have been on boulders rather than trees. It's something of a game to take their picture, because they are camera shy but unlike many other lizards they tend not to run and hide. Instead, they skitter a few feet away and then stop on a different boulder.

On a cool but warming near-Spring morning, my sister and I went out for a hike in this large desert park surrounded by Phoenix sprawl looking for some local wildlife. We didn't see any large or spectacular animals, but early in the morning a lot of tree lizards were basking on the granite boulders.

I saw three of these skittish lizards in the towering boulders and red rock cliffs of Capitol Reef National Park. All of them were on cliffs. None of them were on trees. So I'm not sure what to make of the subspecies name.

Another cliff, another Cliff Tree Lizard. They are small lizards, but rare enough to still be a good find. At least, they're rare compared to the similarly-sized side-blotched lizards.