The Bull Snalces 



rabbits, squirrels and other rodents. It is very fond of birds 

 and eggs. In swallowing the latter it goes through an interesting 

 performance. The egg is engulfed entire — without breaking 

 the shell — and swallowed for a distance of about eight or ten 

 inches down the neck, when that portion of the reptile is pressed 

 firmly against the ground, the muscles are called violently into 

 play and exert themselves in such a manner that strong pressure 

 is brought against the egg from anterior and posterior directions. 

 Subjected to this compression the shell is broken and the frag- 

 ments are swallowed along with the contents of the egg, all 

 parts of which are digested. Many of the mammal and bird- 

 eating snakes feed occasionally upon eggs, but they generally 

 consume them entire and await the action of the gastric juices 

 to dissolve the shell, a condition taking place within the space 

 of two or three days. All of the snakes of this genus however 

 go through the performance of breaking the shell before swallow- 

 ing the egg. A Pine Snake of five feet in length, can easily 

 swallow the eggs of a hen, and will consume from four to six 

 at a meal. 



This species is oviparous. The eggs vary from fifteen to 

 two dozen in number. 



THE BULL SNAKE "THE YELLOW GOPHER" 



Pituophis sayi, (Schlegel) 



Very large in size, and rather stout in form. The snout is 

 pointed like the preceding species, but the head is larger in 

 proportion to the reptile's size. 



Colouration. — Ground-colour, rich orange-yellow or reddish- 

 yellow, with a row of large, square blotches of dark, reddish- 

 brown (or black) on the back, and a series of smaller blotches, 

 of a lighter shade, along the side. 



When the body is distended, the skin will be seen to match 

 the colour of the scales — namely yellow, between the yellow 

 scales, and reddish between the scales comprising the blotches. 



The head is dark yellow, with a brown or black band across 

 the top in front of the eyes. Another band extends from the eye 

 to the angle of the mouth, while there is usually a dark bar directly 

 beneath the eye. The lip plates are bordered with black. With 

 this species the abdomen is yellow, with a row of black blotches 

 on each side. 



