REPTILES Ol' THE I'AC/EIC COAST. 



171 



more or less spotted or blotched with dark brown along 

 the edges of the plates. The nape and the top of the 



head behind tlie prefrontal 

 plates are dark brown, with a 

 varying number of white or 

 yellow spots, one of which is 

 very constantly present just 

 behind the parietal plates. 

 The body and tail are marked 

 with great blotches or rings 

 of brown, separated by nar- 

 rower rings of yellow or w^hite. These white rings are 

 much broader on the sides than near the middle of the 

 back, and vary in number from twenty-four to thirty- 

 five on the body and five to eight on the tail. The 

 markings of the sides are continued onto the lower 

 surfaces. 



Length to aniis 317 38.3 586 733 921 954 



Length of tail 44 55 93 129 118 135 



Distribution. — Boyle's Milk Snake is common in al- 

 most all parts of California, where it has been taken in 

 San Diego (San Diego, Santa Margarita), Riverside (San 

 Jacinto, Riverside), Los Angeles (Pasadena), Kern (Ft. 

 Tejon, Kern Valley), Tulare (East Fork Kaweah River, 

 Three Rivers), Fresno (Fresno), El Dorado (Alt. 2000 

 ft.), Placer (Applegate), Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara), 

 Santa Clara (Los Gatos, Palo Alto), Alameda (Oakland), 

 Solano (Benicia), San Francisco, Marin (Mt. Tamal- 

 pais, Camp Taylor), Sonoma (Healdsburg), Mendocino 

 (Irishes), and Shasta (Redding, Ft. Reading, McCloud 

 River) Counties. 



It has been recorded from St. Thomas and Overton, 

 Muddy Valley, Nevada. 



Habits. — The black and white king snake is most 



