350 



ZOOLOGY 



swamps, others frequent dry country roads, sandy beaches, 

 and the driest hilltops. Certain land-snails hve by preference 

 in sandy places and even in deserts. The tiger-l^eetles and 

 some flies are characteristic of dry situations. One or two 

 species of sowbugs are capable of living away from mois- 

 ture, although their ancestors so recently left the water. Cer- 



FiG. .329. — Home of lizards (scene in the Nevada desert). They rest on 

 the stones, dart like streaks of light across the desert floor and into the 

 "bunch grass." 



tain birds shun the marshy places which their aUies prefer. 

 Field plovers and the Eskimo curlew belong to the water- 

 fowl, but they live in the dry uplands. Animals that thus 

 inhabit dry situations are there by preference because of their 

 nature. They would find life in marshes not only distasteful, 

 but probably incompatible with existence. 



The reptiles, which are on the whole best represented in the 



