This diorama depicts fringe of the forest so they a scene in a tropical can make daily foraging the northern conifer and rainforest. Included are excursions. mixed hardwood forests creatures which typically The Amazona of eastern Canada and use American rainforests as includes several dozen several northeastern their habitat. known as “amazons.” states. Nesting is usually Dominating the scene They are the best known of high on a horizontal is a beautiful MEALY all the North, Central and branch of a spruce or AMAZON South American . hemlock, where four or (Amazona farinusa) which They eat berries, fruit and five young are raised. A can be found from seeds both in the forest as medium-sized warbler, it southern Mexico to well as at neighboring farms. is 5 to 6 inches long and northern Bolivia and eastern Flocks of these parrots with has a wingspan of 8 to 9 Brazil. Stocky, about 15 their sharp beaks can cause inches. Other warblers inches long, it is considered much damage in fruit besides the Bay-Breasted a medium-sized parrot. Its orchards and vegetable also make the same long, coloring is representative of gardens. They also create a round-trip migration each parrots in rainforests, with raucous noise while feeding, year. deep green to bright which further makes them a The lizard yellowish-green feathers, great nuisance to local clinging to the and a few blue and farmers. side of the stump is orangeish-red feathers on The small blending one of about 200 its wings and body. In many so well with its surroundings species called ANOLE species of these parrots, is a BAY- (genus Anolis). All of males and females are BREASTED these lizards are tree- practically indistinguishable WARBLER dwellers. Features on by size or feathering. (Dendroica their feet—the pads with living deep in the castanea) in winter plumage. microscopic hooks, as well rainforests are obviously Wintering in Panama, as sharp-claws—enable well-camouflaged. They are Columbia and Venezuela, it them to move up and down fed well by the plants and feeds on the abundance of tree trunks and limbs with the berries and nuts in the insects that exist in the lush great speed and agility. tree canopy. Other birds, rainforests. Migrating Some are only 5 inches including the Mealy northward in spring, this long, others can reach Amazons, stay near the warbler spends summers in lengths of 18 inches. All can change color from brown It is one of about 80 species on the rock and another is to shades of green depending in the Morphidae family. This clinging to the stalk of the on the color of the surface to butterfly is commonly seen in vine (one of the which the anole is clinging. various shades of blue; black Philodendrons). It has an Thus, it can vary its and orange also appear interesting iridescent camouflaging to best hide together on some species. Its appearance with green and from predators. The anole habitat ranges from southern brown colors. Scarabs eat should not be confused with Mexico into the South leaves or fruit and some the chameleon, a small American countries of Peru, feed on pollen and sap. European lizard (having a Brazil and Bolivia. The upper Thus the rainforests are a greater color changing range). surface of this butterfly’s natural habitat for them. The light green wings are a bright iridescent The large dark brown frog with black blue, making it easily seen, but beetle at the top of the striping is typical of the lower surface is dark tree trunk is a DUNG the large number of brown. When flying through BEETLE (Heliocopris). It is TREE FROG species living in the rainforest, the Morpho obviously much larger than the warm humid rainforests. appears and disappears the other beetles. Interestingly, other species depending on the position of Snakes thrive in of tree frogs dwell in the its wings. tropical rainforests cooler temperate zone Five insects—all because their preferred woodlands such as those in beetles—are distributed food is so plentiful. The Ohio and neighboring states. throughout the diorama scene. brightly colored snake is a These frogs are voracious On the large leaf is a finely “harmless to man” insect hunters. striped SNOUT BEETLE Lystrophis semicinctus, a The other brightly (Entimis imperialis). Another South American species of colored frog is a DART or Snout Beetle (Cyphos illustris) the mostly North American ARROW-POISON FROG. is on the fernlike leaf. It is Heterodon genus. They Its slimy skin contains a colored pale blue and black. feed on frogs, toads, deadly poison—one Both are in the family of rodents and insects. In its drop is sufficient to Snout Beetles called lifetime it may grow to a kill a bird, monkey or other Curculionidae, which is the length of several feet. small of the forest. largest insect family Many snakes have dull or Native rainforest hunters worldwide. It is possibly the brightly colored ring obtain the poison and apply it largest family in the entire markings, as this one does. to the tips of their arrows, Animal kingdom with 375 In fact, this snake closely spears and blow-gun genera and over 50,000 resembles the California darts.The beautiful species. Mountain Kingsnake. Both light blue butterfly Three SCARAB appear much like the is called the BEETLES, members of the dangerous venomous coral MORPHO family Scarabaeidae, are snakes which also exist in (Morphidae hecaba). shown. A brown one is resting parts of the United States, Mexico and Central and South America. The differences in ring