Snake Food Habits 119 



pennsylvamcus, 2 Peromyscus sp., 1 Oryzomys palustris, 3 undetermined 

 remains); and 1 unidentified bird. 



Snakes examined were from Brunswick and Columbus cos., NC, and 

 Colleton, Dorchester, Horry and Sumter cos., SC. 



Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta, Black Rat Snake. 



Thirty-nine stomachs yielded 51 food items, including four sets of eggs 

 counted as single items. This snake appears to feed mainly on small 

 mammals and young birds. Mammals comprised 59 percent of the food 

 items (64 percent of volume) in this sample, and birds 37 percent of the 

 items (34 percent of volume). Half of the 30 mammals were Microtus sp. 

 (9) and Peromyscus sp. (6). Others were: 2 young Rattus norvegicus (one of 

 27 cm TL, the other smaller), 2 Tamias striatus, 2 Condylura cristata, 2 

 Sigmodon hispidus, 1 Mus musculus, 1 Glaucomys volans, 1 Blanna brevicauda 

 carolinensis, 1 Sciurus carolinensis (tail only), 1 young Sylvilagus flondanus and 

 2 undetermined. 



One snake contained remains of two hen eggs, another had two 

 Carolina Wren eggs, and one from the mountains had swallowed ten Ruf- 

 fed Grouse eggs. Recognizable young birds from other snakes included: 

 American Robin, Cardinal, Yellow-breasted Chat, three Blue Jays and a 

 hatchling Bobwhite. In nine other cases bird remains found were not 

 identifiable. 



One specimen had eaten a group of six adherent snake eggs, whose 

 size, shape, number and other features suggested the possibility of 

 Lampropeltis getulus. A first-year snake weighing 12 gm contained a 

 Scelopours undulatus. 



Six snakes had taken unusually large meals that ranged from 24 to 46 

 percent (average 36 percent) of the weight of the snake. 



Snakes examined were from Anson, Ashe, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, 

 Iredell, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Stanly, Stokes, Watauga 

 and Wilkes cos. NC, and Aiken Co., SC. 



Elaphe obsoleta quadrwittata, Yellow Rat Snake. 



Food was found in two specimens from Berkeley and Horry counties, 

 South Carolina: a young rabbit weighing 140 gm; and fragments of 

 several pale blue eggs, possibly those of an Eastern Bluebird. 



Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus, Northern Pine Snake. 



A single, medium-sized specimen, road-killed in late June in Richmond 

 County, North Carolina, contained four Bobwhite eggs. 



Lampropeltis getulus getulus, Eastern Kingsnake. 



Eight stomachs yielded eight food items: 5 reptiles (1 Ophisaurus 

 attenuatus, 2 Opheodrys aestivus, 1 Diadophis punctatus, 1 large Lampropeltis 



