Anguis colchica
Silhouette: Steven Traver · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
Anguis colchica, the eastern slow worm, is a species of legless lizard in the family Anguidae found in eastern and northern Europe and Asia. It is easily confused with the common slow worm, due to their physical similarities, and the proximity of their distribution.
The eastern slow worm is part of the slow worm species complex. It was traditionally written as A. f. colchica, a subspecies of the common slow worm, but was later distinguished as a separate species, along with Anguis graeca, Anguis veronensis and Anguis cephalonnica.
Eastern slow worms live primarily in areas with partially closed, forest or shrub vegetation. They can be found most often on the edges of forests, forest clearings, and sometimes on tourist trails, where they can lie down to bask in the sun. They utilise stone piles, stone fences, coarse woody debris, and even the burrows of some rodents as hiding places. They commonly venture into gardens close to their habitat.
Eastern slow worms are mostly crepuscular animals, but are sometimes found to be active during the daytime, especially after rain. Their diet consists of small, slow moving invertebrates such as earthworms... Wikipedia →
Recording0:04
Russia · 2024
© fedascheva · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Biebrza National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 3 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minsk Zoo | 🇧🇾 Belarus | |
| 2 | Дэльфінарый | 🇧🇾 Belarus |
No species of the same family or order lives in Białowieża National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Slow-worm sighting in Białowieża National Park on a given day, based on 53 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Slow-worm in Białowieża National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March and October, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Slow-worm sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Eastern Slow-worm sightings, Białowieża National Park has the highest daily chance: about 50%. Next come Biebrza National Park (Poland, about 30%) and Tatra National Park (Slovakia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Slow-worm is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Białowieża National Park (53 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
