The Rat Snakes or Colubers 



from Ohio, Illinois, and Iowa to be below these dimensions. 

 The measurements of an average-sized adult from Illinois, are 

 given: 



Total Length 46^ inches. 



Length of Tail 7j " 



Greatest Diameter I J " 



Width of Head jf " 



Length of Head i$ 



Distribution. The Central States, from Ohio to Minnesota 

 and Nebraska (inclusive); southward to the valley of the Mis- 

 souri River. The species is quite abundant in Ohio, Illinois 

 and Iowa. 



Habits. Compared with the other Colubers this is a ground- 

 loving species. It is seldom found in trees and its actions in 

 climbing are not nearly so agile as those of most of the succeeding 

 snakes. Occasional specimens are vicious fighters, vibrating 

 the tail so rapidly that the member is blurred in the motion; at 

 such times they double the neck into an S-shaped loop and strike 

 fully a third their length. In striking they emit a sharp, short 

 hiss, sounding like a miniature sneeze. An enraged specimen 

 will retain this position for a quarter of an hour, following with 

 its head the motions of the person who annoys it. However, 

 most specimens of this snake are very good-natured and may be 

 handled with impunity a few moments after capture. They 

 become very tame in captivity and cannot be induced to bite, 

 a demeanour in strong contrast to the erratic disposition of the 

 Pilot Blacksnake (C. obsoletus), the Yellow Chicken Snake 

 (C. obsoletus quadrivittatus} and many individuals of the beautiful 

 Corn Snake (C. gultatus). When newly captured specimens 

 of the Fox Snake are handled, they eject, from glands at the 

 base of the tail, a very strong-smelling secretion, of much the 

 same odour as that noted about the cage of a captive fox hence 

 the popular name. 



The Fox Snake feeds largely upon small rodents young 

 rats and mice. To procure the former it often haunts the vicinity 

 of barns and sheds where hay or grain is stored. From this 

 habit it is sometimes called the house snake. The fully adult 

 individuals eat mammals as large as half-grown rabbits. They 

 occasionally prey upon birds and will eat their eggs, swallowing 

 them entire and breaking the shell in the throat by a contraction 



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