In Nature's Wonderland

That portion of Nature's wonderland spread so majestically over the vast expanse of little rain and abundant sunshine which we call the Southwest is peopled by a myriad of fascinating creatures infinite in variety, complex in design, often perplexing and puzzling in personality. Here the inquisitive Nature lover will find countless avenues of fauna interest to explore and will discover that the seemingly barren land is not so barren after all.

The domain of the cactus wren and the high, cool haunts of the mountain lion are worlds if only in places a few miles apart. A bumptious old bear, if he had binoculars and the wit to use them, could view not too far below his mountain glade the playful antics of a bunch of jack rabbits. Not only do the glaring sun and the endless bright, empty skies determine the life below but also the patterned terrain. There is the desert and there are the mountains and in between are several life zones each different from the others.

The desert is a strange and wonderful laboratory for the study of animal life. Here, if one is properly endowed with patience and the power of observation, one finds the unusual and unique. Life isn't easy in an area where it does not rain for months at a time, yet living creatures are to be found there in abundance. Bird, insect, snake, lizard, quadruped all have adapted themselves to their environment and, strange as it may seem, not only survive but flourish, and they

have developed many ingenious ways of doing so. When you live in a place where the harsh sun can be your mortal enemy, the smart thing to do is to stay out of the sun; so most of the desert creatures are nocturnal in their habits and it is at night that the desert comes so wonderfully and vigorously to life. Nor is the lack of water a problem for these desert creatures. Moisture can be obtained from plants or from other living things preyed upon; so life goes on in a placid rhythm.

One of the strangest of desert animals is the kangaroo rat whose burrow, in a sun-cooked earthen mound, is comfortably air-cooled even during the hottest summer day. And when, during your desert explorations, you come upon a nest of the cactus wren built in a cholla cactus, you are viewing a miracle in engineering and design, perhaps unequalled in all of birddom. The nest is built in a From desert lands to the highlands, in this blessed land of ours, the scenery and the inhabitants thereof change. Desert mountains, the mountains in the sun, of which there are many, are veritable workshops for biological study. The lakes and marshes formed by the dams on the Colorado River, teeming with birdlife, are becoming, according to the experts, the richest outdoor aviary in the United States. Here, especially in winter, live regal, feathered tourists in luxurious splendor, enjoying the sunshine, their idle chitchat on a warm, wintry afternoon in the sun concerned with summer habitats far, far to the north.