28. COLUBER 681 
Lower Californian specimens have been recorded from 
San Ignacio, Mulege, and Santa Rosalia. 
Hlabits—Grinnell & Grinnell have published the 
following note on the habits of this snake as observed by 
them in Los Angeles County: “This is a very common 
snake in the uplands and foothill districts of the county. 
It is seldom seen in the open, but stays in brushy places 
where its agile movements render it difficult to capture. 
“The striped racer is a good climber, and we have often 
seen it many feet above the ground in scrub oaks or wild 
lilac bushes. A curious habit is that of lying in a rigid coil 
on top of a leafy branch. We have found several in such 
positions and supposed them to be lying in wait for any 
insects or birds which might happen to come within striking 
distance. The snakes are then loth to move and can be 
closely approached and even caught. But when once aroused 
they glide swiftly out of reach and sight.” 
A photograph, reproduced in Plate 69, shows a snake 
of this species killing a rattlesnake, Crotalus oreganus. 
149. Coluber barbouri Van Denburgh & Slevin 
Espiritu Santo Istanp Racer 
Coluber barbouri Van DENBURGH & StevIn, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 
Vol. XI, No. 6, 1921, p. 98 (type locality, Isla Partida, Espiritu 
Santo Island, Gulf of California, Mexico). 
Description—Head long, with flattened top and nar- 
row, rounded snout. Rostral plate large, about once and 
a third as high as broad, hollowed below, and bounded be- 
hind by internasal, anterior nasal, and first labial plates. 
Plates on top of head are a pair of internasals, a larger pair 
of prefrontals, supraocular and part of upper preocular of 
each side, a long and posteriorly narrow frontal, and a pair 
of very large parietals. Anterior and posterior nasals dis- 
