10 COPEIA 



HIBERNATION OF REPTILES IN SOUTH- 

 ERN CALIFORNIA. 



Of the snakes in the immediate vicinity of Los 

 Angeles, very few are to be found at large during 

 the winter, for they behave much as do their eastern 

 cousins. This was contrary to my expectations when 

 I first arrived here, for like many another easterner, 

 I thought Southern California would jaeld a bounti- 

 ful harvest of snakes at any time of the year. Now 

 and then a Pacific Bull Snake (Pituophis catenifer) , 

 a Western Garter Snake (Thamnophis parietalis), 

 or a "Water" Snake (Thamnophis hammondi) will 

 wander in search of food and may be found abroad 

 even in winter. Only exceptionally warm daj^s will 

 cause this, however, and few, if any, other snakes ever 

 come out in the winter. Most captives in my collec- 

 tion of local snakes refuse food from about the middle 

 of October to the beginning of March. 



Lizards, on the contrary, are to be found on any 

 sunny day during the winter when they come forth 

 to warm themselves after a freezing night. At such 

 times they snap up occasional flies and other insects. 

 Gerrhonotus scincicauda, Uta stansburiana and Scel- 

 oporus bi-seriatus are the most intrepid of the lizards 

 that dare the rigors of a none-too-gentle climate and 

 warm themselves in the rays of the winter sun. Up 

 in the mountains where snow falls during the winter, 

 one may see the hardy little swifts (Uta) scamper 

 about rocks in the sun a few feet away from shady 

 nooks where large patches of snow lie evaporating, 

 while down at a lower altitude may be found other 

 lizards, and even snakes at times. In captivity the 

 lizards feed readily through the winter. 



The hiding places of lizards may easily be found 

 in the winter by overturning heaps of boards, stones, 

 logs, etc. At that time of the year, especially after 

 a heavy frost, they are easily captured, for they are 

 quite sluggish. The Horned Lizards usually bury 

 themselves in the ground, where they are sometimes 



