Our Natural Enemies, 



189 



NORTHERN RATTLESNAKE. 

 Prepared to Attack a Song Sparrow. 



ugly head, absence of teeth in the upper jaw excepting the 

 fangs, and the pit in the head. 



Crotalus horridus, our Northern Rattlesnake, has doubtless 

 the widest geographical distribution, being found in nearly 

 every State in the Union, from the Gulf of Mexico to North- 

 ern New England, and thence west to the Rocky Mountains. 

 It has a most forbidding appearance, and when once seen 

 with its enormous head, triangular in shape, and large bril- 

 liant eyes, with fiery irides, it can never be mistaken. Be- 

 tween the eye and the nostril is a deep pit, a character that 

 is peculiar to the family. 



All rattlers, as the name indicates, have a horny append- 

 age to the tail, formed of separate button-like objects, that 

 rattle together when the tail is vibrated. This rattle not 

 only serves to warn human beings of danger, but also to 

 arouse in animals a curiosity that often proves fatal. The 



