I’ve been re-watching some of my Sitana videos from 2012, and was reminded of an odd interaction between an Indian robin and a male fan-throated lizard (Sitana ponticeriana), from a population in Kutch, Gujarat, in western India. Usually, Indian robins and fan-throated lizards don’t pay much attention to each other. Here’s a video in which a lizard displays when a pair of robins pass by. His dewlap remains extended for a while, which is uncharacteristic, but the interaction doesn’t escalate:

But in the same population, an Indian robin chases after a male fan-throated lizard, after the lizard first ran in the direction of the robin. He starts perched on the rock in the centre of the screen. Here’s a video, slowed down to half-speed. When filming,  I had no idea what was happening, or even where the lizard was, which explains why the camera deviates from the lizard for a while (apologies). 

I’m not sure what’s going on. I didn’t think robins eat lizards–do they? Maybe it thinks the lizard’s tail is a worm? Maybe it’s just playing? Any further ideas?

Ambika Kamath
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