Fence lizards are the most common and widespread lizards in the eastern and central U.S. The northern fence lizard ranges from the Mid-Atlantic region to the edge of the Great Plains and is especially abundant in the wooded hills of the Appalachian and Ozark Plateaus; the southern subspecies inhabits the pine woodlands of the Coastal Plain, from the Carolinas to Texas.
Named for their habit of basking on fence posts, these lizards spend much of the day in trees, chasing down insects, spiders, caterpillars and other invertebrates. Hikers often encounter them as they sprint across trails or scurry through the leaf litter but these agile reptiles usually escape to the safety of a tree, hiding on the opposite side of the trunk.
While both sexes are drab colored, with gray-brown scales, males sport patches of blue on their throat and sides during the breeding season. Mating occurs soon after hibernation and up to 15 eggs are laid by late spring, hatching in late summer or early autumn. Miniature replicas of the adults, young fence lizards are vulnerable to a wide range of predators, including birds, shrews, opossums and raccoons.
