Common Wall Lizard
Podarcis muralis
Also known as: Wall Lizard
About This Species
Look for it basking on sun-warmed stone walls, rocky outcrops, and garden masonry through the warmer months, often doing rapid push-up displays to signal to rivals. It darts into crevices at the first sign of movement, so a slow approach and patience pay off more than a quick chase. Sunny mornings and early afternoons, when it first emerges to warm up, offer the best chance of a prolonged view before it becomes too fast to follow.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Watch from a few metres away rather than approaching directly; a shadow falling across its basking spot is often enough to send it into hiding.
- Reptile protections vary widely by country and even by region within a country, so check local rules before handling any wild lizard, and never turn over or fail to replace rocks and stones used as shelter.
- Photographing from a low angle without crowding the animal causes the least disruption to its basking routine.
LCSquamataNaNLacertidae
Seasonal Activity
324,825 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Squamata
- Order
- NaN
- Family
- Lacertidae
Photo
(c) mauro_fioretto, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.