Strecker — Reptiles and Batrachians of Texas. 75 



species and a large hawk. The hawk had carried the serpent some dis- 

 tance from the ground, but the latter squirmed so vigorously and struck 

 at its captor so furiously that the bird was forced to relinquish its hold. 

 When the reptile struck the ground I supposed that it would be too badly 

 stunned to move, but on my reaching the spot where it had fallen I was 

 just in time to see it dragging its body slowly down the burrow of some 

 fossorial mammal. 



Lampropeltis doliatus doliatus L. 



SCARLET SNAKE. 



I collected a specimen of this beautiful species nearly ten years ago, 

 but I have never been able to find a second one. 



Lampropeltis calligaster Say. 



EVANS' KING SNAKE. 



This species, one of the handsomest of North American serpents, is 

 exceedingly rare in McLennan County, which locality, I believe, marks 

 the southern limit to its range.* The specimen from Waco in the U. S. 

 National Museum (No. 21,486) and one other now in the Baylor Univer- 

 sity collection, are the only examples of the species I have ever captured. 

 In life, the blotches on the upper surface of this species vary from deep 

 chestnut brown to deep red, in different specimens. 



Lampropeltis getula sayi Holbrook. 



WESTERN KING SNAKE. 



The king or "speckled" snake is rather common. In Waco examples 

 the markings are seldom in the form of bands, but the whole upper sur- 

 face is minutely speckled with small yellow dots. My observations indi- 

 cate that this species feeds entirely upon other snakes. 



Rhinochilus lecontei Baird and Girard. 



LE CONTE'S SNAKE. 



I captured one specimen of this beautiful snake about midway between 

 Waco and China Springs. Two other serpents which I supposed to be 

 this species were seen in the same locality. 



Tropidonotus rhombifer Hallowell. 



DIAMOND WATER SNAKE. 



This handsomely marked water snake is common in tanks and lagoons. 

 Along the creeks, however, it is less abundant than T. transversus. 



Tropidonotus sipedon transversus Hallowell. 



HALLOWELL'S WATER SNAKE. 



Our most abundant water snake. The specimen listed in my former 

 paper as T. erythrogaster Shaw was probably an obsoletely marked ex- 

 ample of this subspecies. A number of adult specimens of transversus 



* Since the above was written I have seen Cope's record of a specimen collected at 

 Fort Davis. Jeff Davis County. This would indicate that its range extends south almost 

 to the Rio Grande River. 



