The birds I saw sitting high in the bare trees along the edge of the Everglades were ospreys, easily identified by the black band across their eyes. Or if I'd remembered that fact, it would have been easy.

I didn't, and so had to go digging through the guide books. Books, plural. Once I got to the top of the home library shelves I also took down the field guide to amphibians and reptiles, and identified the big green lizard in the royal poincianna.

Big. Green. Lizard. So big that it is mistakenly referred to by the locals as an iguana. We're talking a foot and a half of neon green lizard with lemon yellow head stripes. Quite the handsome fellow, with a light pink throat flappy thing. He is a knight anole. Native to Cuba, introduced to a very small area in and around Miami, where he took a liking to the climate, so similar to his home.



I will forgo the obvious jokes.