Preface vii America’s Subtropical Wonderland 1 Pine Rockland 7 Tree-Island Glades 12 Mangrove Swamp 16 Florida Bay and the Coastal Prairie 21 Big Cypress Swamp 26 Plant-and-Animal Communities 29 Tropical Hardwood Hammock 30 Cypress Head 35 Bayhead 38 Willow Head 40 Web of Life in the Marsh 42 Alligator Hole in the Glades 45 Discovering Everglades Plants and Animals 49 Air Plants 52 Mammals 59 Birds 64 Reptiles and Amphibians 70 Fishes 72 Animals without Backbones 75 Indians of the Everglades 77 Appendix 80 Glossary 81 For Reading and Reference 84 Rare and Endangered Animals 86 Checklist of Mammals 87 Checklist of Birds 88 Checklist of Reptiles and Amphibians 96 Checklist of Trees 98 [Illustration: EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK] [Illustration: Alligator nest] PREFACE The shimmering waters of the everglades creep silently down the tip of Florida under warm subtropical skies. In a vast, shallow sheet this lazy river idles through tall grasses and shadowy forests, easing over alligator holes and under bird rookeries, finally mingling with the salty waters of Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico in the mangrove swamps. From source to sea, all across the shallow breadth of this watery landscape, life abounds.