SAUROMALUS, THE CHUCKWALLA 



{Sauromalus ater) 



This morning "old man chuckwalla" came out 

 of his winter hiding looking as wrinkled and 

 shriveled as a withered apple. His black beady- 

 skin hung on him in folds like the hide of an old 

 elephant, and, as he clumsily clambered upon a 

 big flat red rock and blinked his sleepy eyes in 

 the sun, he appeared to have emerged from his 

 winter torpor with only woe as his portion and 

 without a sign to show that he could appreciate 

 the new awakening spirit of spring. The brown- 

 shouldered lizards had been sporting about 

 playing tag with one another in the sun for over 

 a month or more, the rock wrens had been 

 making love flirtations for a fortnight. Even a 

 few hairy caterpillars had ventured forth to 

 feed days ago, risking being gobbled up by the 

 voracious black-throated sparrows. The chuck- 

 walla comes forth among the most belated of 

 all the season's guests. 



But wait — there is good reason for his tardi- 

 ness. He, you must remember, is a feeder on 



