Calotes versicolor
Silhouette: Vijay Karthick · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor), also called the eastern garden lizard, Indian garden lizard, common garden lizard, bloodsucker or changeable lizard, is an agamid lizard found widely distributed in Indo-Malaya. It has also been introduced in many other parts of the world.
Calotes versicolor is an insectivore, and the male gets a bright red throat in the breeding season. It measures over 10 cm (3.9 in) in length snout-to-vent. Total length including the tail is up to 37 cm (14.5 in). Two small groups of spines, perfectly separated from each other, above each tympanum. Dorsal crest moderately elevated on the neck and anterior part of the trunk, extending on to the root of the tail in large individuals, and gradually disappearing on the middle of the trunk in younger ones. No fold in front of the shoulder, but the scales behind the lower jaw are much smaller than the others; gular sac not developed. From thirty-nine to forty-three series of scales round the middle of the trunk. The hind foot (measured from the heel to the extremity of the fourth toe) is not much longer than the head in the adult, whilst it is considerably longer in the young. The coloration... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 5 | Gir National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 7 | Royal Bardia National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 8 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 9 | Sinharaja Forest Reserve | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 10 | Chitwan National Park | 🇳🇵 Nepal | |
| 11 | Satpura National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 12 | Bali Barat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 13 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 14 | Periyar National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 15 | Bandipur National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 16 | Ranthambore National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 17 | Keoladeo National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Surabaya | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Surakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Jakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Semarang | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Jamshedpur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Vadodara | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 8 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Tamluk | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Chennai | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jijamata Udyaan | 🇮🇳 India |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Garden Lizard sighting in Yala National Park on a given day, based on 134 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 15 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June–September and December–February
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report an Oriental Garden Lizard in Yala National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, the lowest month.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Oriental Garden Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Oriental Garden Lizard sightings, Yala National Park ranks 2nd at about 70%. The best odds are in Udawalawe National Park (Sri Lanka, about 80%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Calotes
The closest relatives of the Oriental Garden Lizard that you can see in Yala National Park (genus Calotes, Oriental Forest Lizards) are Ceylon Bloodsucker (about 20%) and Common Green Forest Lizard (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Oriental Garden Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Yala National Park (134 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.
