THE REPTILES OF OHIO 25 



perched on such objects, they were conspicuous and often could be seen from 

 some distance away. 



Swifts can move with considerable speed, but they seldom run far. When 

 approached, they dart to cover or to the opposite side of their perch. There 

 they remain at rest but on the alert. If they are on a tree or stump they 

 endeavor to keep the trunk between themselves and their pursuer, but each 

 time they move they go higher or lower until they are ultimately out of reach. 



The collector who has had experience with these lizards can often catch 

 them with little trouble. By cautiously peering around the bole and stepping 

 back out of sight as soon as the location of the specimen has been noted, one 

 may thrust his hand around the tree very quickly and gently press the lizard 

 against the bark until it can be grasped with the other hand. Care must be 

 exercised, however, not to hold the tail alone for it will become detached and 

 the lizard will run to safety. 



Individuals soon become tame, as a rule, although at first they struggle to 

 escape and may pinch the fingers of their captors between their jaws. They 

 can be taken readily with a fine wire or horse hair noose fastened to the end 

 of a pole. Specimens which live near farm buildings and cabins, and which 

 have become accustomed to human beings, often will dart out and seize insects 

 at the feet of the observer, providing the latter remains motionless. A par- 

 ticularly tame specimen which lived in and about the foundations of a cabin 

 in Hocking County was once offered a small grasshopper on the end of a 

 string. It swallowed the insect and when the string was pulled the lizard was 

 lifted nearly a foot from the ground before it disgorged. 



Swifts appear to be strictly diurnal. They retire to a convenient hiding 

 place under a stone, the loose bark of a stump, etc., at twilight, and on cool 

 or rainy days they seldom venture forth. Sawdust piles are another favorite 

 retreat. The blue areas on the under surface are usually brightest when the 

 lizard is in the sun and palest when it is hiding. 



Specimens were collected in every month from April to October, inclusive, 

 but many more were taken in May and September than in any other months. 

 The swift was found at one time or another with almost all of the species of 

 snakes which are common in southeastern Ohio and it even was discovered 

 under the same shelter with a copperhead and a ring-necked snake. It was 

 rarely found in the same habitat with the blue-tailed skink since the latter 

 prefers a damper environment. However, in several of the localities in Ohio 

 where the large-headed skink (Eumeces laticeps) was collected, swifts were 

 also in evidence. 



The food of this lizard consists very largely of insects but according to 

 Surface (1907, 257) it also eats snails, "sow-bugs" and spiders. Captives ate 

 ants, honey bees, meal worms, wax worms, caterpillars of various species, flies, 

 small beetles, may-flies, grasshoppiers, crickets, bugs and in fact almost any 

 insect offered to them which was small enough for them to overpower and 

 swallow. With such a decided appetite for insects it is obvious that the swift 

 is an animal of considerable economic value. 



