HAUNTS OF liKPTILES 



201 



diniiimtive DeKaj's snake and the closely allied 

 Storer's snake are generally found beneath flat 

 stones or strips of bark at the edges of woods. 

 These Httle reptiles are seldom seen abroad except 

 in spring or fall, when they delight to bask in the 



Fig. 81.— "Big Mose," the alligator. 



sunlight. Precisely the same are the habits of the 

 tiny and dainty ring-necked snake. These reptiles 

 are most frequently found by stripping the bark from 

 decaying trees. 



In collecting reptiles it is useful for the beginner 

 to know that snakes or lizards are seldom found in 

 thick woods ; in such places the collector will seldom 

 find anything but a few batrachians, such as sala- 

 manders and newts. Snakes prefer the borders of 

 woods or small clearings. Several of our local spe- 

 cies frequent rocky places, and the borders of swamps 

 are the favorite lurking-places of others. 



To the beginner a reptile hunt is generally most 

 discouraging. The anticipation is that careful search 



