Backyard Nature Wednesday: A little backyard porn

I can hardly step into my yard these days without encountering a shameless exhibition like this. A pair of green anoles intent on doing their duty to perpetuate the species.

I find it interesting that, during copulation, the female in the pair assumes a duller color. Sometimes I see pairs where the female is almost brown during this sensitive time. I don't know how to interpret this, or if it really means anything. Maybe it's just a random thing.

But a few minutes after copulation ends, the female begins to regain her brighter green color, just like the male. With any luck, in a few weeks we'll start seeing tiny green anoles, just out of the egg. They'll be joining hundreds of others in my backyard.  

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