22 SERPENTS OF THE NORTHEASTERN STATES 



Coloration is yellowish brown or gray, with a series of irregular, 

 chestnut-brown or reddish blotches edged with black. On some speci- 

 mens these blotches are dark olive. On the sides are smaller blotches 

 in alternation with those on the back. It is white beneath, with 

 small oblong spots of black. 



It has acquired the name of "milk snake" from its habit of prowl- 

 ing into stables, where it is alleged to steal milk from the cows. 

 This is rather a ridiculous theory and proof of the deed from careful 

 observers is wanting. Captive specimens are quite indifferent to milk. 

 As the species feeds largely upon small rodents, its presence in stables 

 and barns may be accounted for as a search for mice and young rats. 

 It is a constrictor, and oviparous, laying twenty or more eggs with 

 soft, leathery shells. Young specimens are marked like the parent but 

 are of more vivid coloration. 



General range: Southern Canada to North Carolina; westward 

 to Illinois and Wisconsin. Varieties or subspecies, with brighter red 

 markings, extend southward to the Gulf of Mexico and southwestward 

 nearly to the Pacific Coast. 



King Snake 



Lampropeltis getulus getulus (Linne) 



(Fig. 14) 



Like the pine snake, corn snake and the keeled green snake, this 

 is a southern reptile, barely extending its range into the area of this 

 list. Its status is rather like that of the corn snake, though possibly 

 more king snakes have been noted in New Jersey. Dr. Fowler, who 

 prepared a list of amphibians and reptiles of New Jersey, explains: 

 "The king snake is known to me only from the region of the coastal 

 plain of New Jersey." 



Northern specimens are seldom longer than four feet. The scales 

 are smooth and lustrous and the average specimen is black with nar- 

 row yellow or white cross-bands, which fork on the sides and connect 

 in chain-like fashion. The abdomen is black with large patches of 

 white or yellow. 



A decided tendency toward cannibalism renders this species 

 unique. It attacks and kills other snakes of dimensions closely ap- 

 proaching its own, and kills and devours copperhead snakes and rattle- 

 snakes. It is immune to the bites of poisonous species. Rodents form 

 a considerable part of its food and the species may be regarded as of 

 definite economic value. It is particularly docile and quickly tamed. 

 Like all of the preceding species, it is oviparous. 



General range: New Jersey to Florida; westward to the Missis- 

 sippi y alley. 



