REPTILES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 169 



and sides are continued, somewhat irregularly, onto the 

 lower surfaces. The white areas, and more rarely the 

 red ones also, are sometimes tinged with dull yellowish 

 brown. The white rings are little if at all broader on 

 the sides than on the back. 



Length to anus 288 486 560 607 695 722 



Length of tail 46 71 97 111 118 124 



Distribution. — This brilliant snake seems to prefer the 

 moister, cooler portions of the State, such as are occu- 

 pied by coniferous forests. It has been taken in San 

 Diego (vie. San Diego), San Bernardino (San Bernar- 

 dino Mountains), Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara), Tulare 

 (Heaven's Gate, near Little Kern Lake), Fresno, Tuol- 

 umne (Hodgdon's), Mariposa (Yosemite Valley), El 

 Dorado (Riverton), Santa Cruz (Soquel, Santa Cruz, 

 Glenwood), and Santa Clara (Mt. Hamilton) Counties, 

 California. 



Habits. — Very little is known of the habits of this 

 snake. Old hunters say that it destroys many rattlers 

 and other snakes. One of my specimens had eaten two 

 Blue-bellied Lizards {Sceloporiis occidentalis) . 



Many names are applied to this species, among which 

 are King Snake, Red Milk Snake, Coral or Corral Snake, 

 Ring Snake, Harlequin Snake, etc. It is popularly sup- 

 posed to be very poisonous, but, like all Californian 

 reptiles excepting the rattlesnakes, is entirely harmless. 

 52. — Lampropeltis boylii Baird & Girard. Boyle's Milk 

 Snake. 



Ophiholvs Bo])lii, B. & G., Cat. N. A. Kept., Pt. I, Serp. 1853, p. 82 

 (type locality El Dorado Co., CaL). 



Coronella balteata, Hallow., Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., VI, 1853, p. 

 236; Id., Eep. Pac. E. E. Surv., X, pt. 4, 1857, pp. 14, 24, pi. 

 V (type locality " El Paso Creek and Benicia; also inter- 

 mediate places," California). 



Lampropeltis boylii, Cope, Proc. Ac. Nat. Sci. Phila., 1860, p. 255; 

 Stkjneger, N. a. Fauna, No. 7, 1893, p. 204. 



