242 DENIZENS OF THE DESERT 



tender buds and blossoms, and why should he 

 come to the feast before it is set? Many of the 

 lizards can live on insects, but he must wait 

 until the flowers have unfurled, and this is 

 usually somewhat advanced in the season's 

 cycle. The elixir vita that brings rejuvenescence 

 to the wrinkled body is found in the petals of 

 the flowers that come with the suns of March. 

 To arrive before would be to come to an empty 

 table. Homely, clumsy, stolid, unfinished-look- 

 ing, and awkward of limb, yet he is the daintiest 

 of feeders and behind those sleepy eyes lies 

 wisdom. 



Not to mention the Gila Monster, the chuck- 

 walla is our largest iguanid lizard, a full-grown 

 individual attaining a length of eighteen inches. 

 The general coloration of the body is brownish 

 black or gray with darker cross-bars, these 

 latter being most clearly defined in young speci- 

 mens. The blunt tail is usually mottled or 

 marbled with white. In rare instances it is en- 

 tirely white. "It is a curious fact, however," 

 says Dr. Merriam, "that the distinctness or 

 even the presence or absence of these cross- 

 bars, especially on the tail, is changeable in the 



