THE EING SNAKE. 17 



largest I have seen in that district, where they are 

 not uncommon. (See later for county records.) 



Shape. — In proportion to its length the ring snake 

 is much thinner or more attenuated than the adder, 

 especially towards the tail. This, indeed, is often 

 quoted as a mark of distinction between the two. 



Fi«. 4. — King Snake with blunt tail. 

 (Photo by H. E. Forrest ; specimen in Shrewsbury Museum.) 



The tail of the former tapers off to a very fine point, 

 while that of the adder is somewhat blunt. Though 

 the ordinary rule, this is not invariably the case, as 

 may be seen by a specimen in the museum at Shrews- 

 bury, which Mr Forrest was good enough to draw my 

 attention to, in which the tail of the ring snake is 

 almost as blunt as the tail of an adder. 



B 



