[1][2] The specific name, woodi, is in honor of taxidermist Nelson R. Wood (died 1920) of the Smithsonian Institution who collected the holotype.

It is most common in dry habitats with open basking areas and nesting with nearby pines or oaks for shelter.

Fire suppression causes habitat changes such as closure of the canopy, which eliminates the open spaces required by the species.

[5] This species occurs in widely spaced patches of a habitat type that is naturally fragmented, and it does not disperse far from its natal area.

The main population groups have remained separate for many thousands of years, causing isolation that has led to the development of high genetic diversity in the species as a whole.