320 ELEMENTARY ZOOLOGY 



garter snakes (ThatnnopJiis) (fig. 127), always striped and 

 not more than three feet long. The most widespread 

 species is Thamnophis sirtalis, rather dully colored with 

 three series of small dark spots along each side. The 



FlG. 127. A garter snake, Thamnophis parietalis. (Photograph from life 

 by J. O. Snyder.) 



common water-snake (Natrix sipedon) is brownish with 

 back and sides each with a series of about 80 large square 

 dark blotches alternating with each other. It feeds on 

 fishes and frogs, and although " unpleasant and ill-tem- 

 pered " is harmless. One of the prettiest and most gentle 

 of snakes is the familiar little greensnake (Cyclophis 

 cestivus}, common in the East and South in moist 

 meadows and in bushes near the water. It feeds on in- 

 sects and can be easily kept alive in confinement. A 

 familiar larger snake is the blacksnake or blue racer (Bas- 

 caniom constrictor^}, ''lustrous pitch black, general color 

 greenish below and with white throat." It is "often 

 found in the neighborhood of water, and is particularly 

 partial to thickets of alders, where it can hunt for toads, 

 mice, and birds, and being an excellent climber it is often 

 seen among the branches of small trees and bushes, 

 hunting for young birds in the nest." The chain-snake 

 (Lampropeltis getulus) of the southeast and the king- 

 snake (also a Lampropeltis) (fig. 128) of the central 



