Clarke (1958:40-45) reported _T. o. ornata_ in all terrestrial
communities studied in Osage County; he considered the subspecies to
be characteristic of the "... cultivated-field community ..." and to
be of frequent occurrence in (but not characteristic of) the "...
Oak-Walnut Hillside Forest ..., Buckbrush-Sumac ..., and Prairie
communities ...". Brennan (1937:345) found _T. o. ornata_ to be
equally abundant in mixed prairie and prairie-streamside habitats in
Ellis County; the subspecies was much rarer on rocky hillsides and in
the habitat surrounding prairie ponds. Carpenter (1940:641) listed _T.
o. ornata_ as an inhabitant of "... tall and mixed-grass prairies ..."
(also in Oklahoma and Nebraska). Fitch (1958:99) found the order of
preference for habitats at the Natural History Reservation to be
grazed pasture land, woodland, open fields with undisturbed prairie
vegetation, and fallow fields with a rank growth of weeds.
At the Damm Farm the greatest number of box turtles was collected on
the pasture, especially in three areas designated in Plate 1 as the
"northwest corner," "southern ravine," and "house pond" areas. These
three areas had several features in common. All contained ravines and
rocky slopes that provided many places of concealment (dens, burrows
of larger animals, and suitable substrate for the excavation of
earthen forms). All contained water (in ponds and intermittent
streams) for most of the year; and, all were frequented daily by
cattle that left an abundant supply of dung in which box turtles
foraged. In addition, each of the three areas contained at least one
mulberry tree, under which fruit was abundant in the months of June
and July.
The relative numbers of box turtles found in different areas on the
Damm Farm were, of course, governed to some extent by my activity in
these areas and by the relative ease with which box turtles were seen
in different types of vegetational cover. Turtles were more easily
seen in the pasture (especially in sparsely vegetated or denuded
areas) where much of my field work was done on horseback, than in the
wooded areas, where excursions were usually made on foot. It was
evident, however, after mapping known ranges and studying patterns of
movement in marked turtles, that concentrations in the three
above-mentioned areas of pasture were an indication of actual
preference by turtles for the more favorable habitat in these areas
rather than the result of incomplete sampling.