A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake hiding from the sun near the entrance of a shallow cave in south Phoenix. During the springtime, this species can be found even relatively far from its rocky habitat, hunting birds and lizards at the base of creosote. This caliche cave, which is also the occasional home to a Sonoran Desert Tortoise or two, is about as far from its winter and summer preferred homes as it will get in the year, nearly a quarter mile from the nearest sizable rock.
