COLUBRINAE 6 I 3 



and bites furiously, climbs well, and when suspended from 

 branches can protrude half of its length in a horizontal direction. 

 It eats any kind of Reptile, Bird, or Mammal it can master ; 

 small animals are swallowed directly, rats and moles are first 

 killed by constrictions. Large specimens reach perhaps 6 feet 

 in length. 



Z. hippocrepis is the representative species in the Iberian 

 Peninsula and in North-Western Africa. It is rarely more than 

 4 feet long, and is very pretty, the ground-colour being reddish 

 or olive-yellow with a row of large, dark brown, yellow-edged 

 spots along the back. Two rows of smaller spots adorn the 

 sides ; where the dark spots are large, the pale ground-colour is 

 restricted to forming rings around the spots, producing a pretty 

 appearance. The under parts are yellow or orange, with black 

 spots. On the head is a dark, pale-edged patch in the shape of 

 a horse-shoe, a feature alluded to by the specific name. Struc- 

 tural characters are the possession of a row of little subocular 

 scales, which completely separate the eye from the labials, the 

 double anal shield, and the small and smooth scales on the body, 

 which form generally as many as twenty-seven rows. 



Z. constrictor. The American Black Snake. The scales are 

 smooth, and arranged in seventeen rows; the anal shield is 

 divided. The general colour above is uniform bluish-black ; 

 below slaty, tinged with blue ; the chin and throat are silvery 

 white, sometimes with a black spot. Large specimens attain a 

 total length of 6 feet. 



Holbrook gives the following exhaustive account of this 

 species, about which many sensational stories are current even 

 in would-be scientific periodicals : 



The " Black Snake " is one of the commonest of North 

 American species. It is extremely active, climbing with facility, 

 and running with great rapidity, whence it is not uncommonly 

 called the " Eacer." It frequents shady places, covered with 

 thick shrubs, on the margins of water. It feeds on mice, toads, 

 or small birds ; and, as it is an excellent climber, is frequently 

 seen on trees in search of birds' nests. It is a bold and daring 

 serpent, enters barns and out-houses without fear, and has 

 been known to destroy young chickens. Its specific name 

 constrictor would imply that it suffocates or crushes its prey, 

 but this according to Holbrook is at least doubtful. In the 



