December, 1921 
FOREST AND STREAM 
547 
NOTES ON THE BLACK 
RACER 
E XPERT students of snake life have 
already exploded the stock tradi- 
tion that, true to its supposed re- 
lationship to the boa, the black 
racer Coluber constrictor constrictor 
{Linn.) attacks and always defeats the 
rattlesnake by crushing out its life with 
its powerful, constricting coils, and that 
it may choke young people by winding 
its body about their throats. It has now 
been determined, however, that even 
when holding its prey, the pressure is 
exerted in a horizontal plane, rather than 
by encircling, thus pinning the animal to 
the ground, in case of a frog or toad. 
But, as in the case of many superstitions 
and myths, there is often a slight basis 
of truth, or at least a resemblance to 
fact, from which the exaggerated stories 
have sprung. 
The black racer’s habit of looping it- 
self about the wrist, when held just back 
of the head, and coiling the rest of the 
body around the arm, suggests one pos- 
sible origin of the constrictor theory. 
Other snakes, when captive, will writhe 
and coil upon themselves, but this half- 
hitch is quite distinctive, and the writer 
does not recall a single exception when 
it was not the first act of the black racer. 
To test roughly the pressure exerted 
by the coil, one finger was pushed under 
the loop at the wrist and drawn upward. 
It is true that a little force was neces- 
sary to insert the finger, and that the 
snake offered considerable resistance by 
tightening the knot in response to the 
upward pull, but in none of the 
half dozen experiments with 
snakes of varying lengths up 
to 55 inches was the constrict- 
ing power sufficient to serious- 
ly injure a child, although in 
extraordinary circumstances it 
is possible that the pressure 
on the blood vessels in the 
neck, if long continued, might 
suffocate a very small baby by 
shutting off the blood supply 
of the brain. All the condi- 
tions favorable for this result 
are not likely to occur, how- 
ever. The pressure from other 
portions of the coil, in these experiments, 
was negligible. 
Like nearly all snakes, the black racer 
may, if given ample warning, run from 
an intruder, but it has been the writer’s 
experience that this snake will attack 
and fight with less provocation than any 
New England species with which he is 
acquainted. If cornered, or even star- 
tled, it will not only refuse to run, but 
will frequently attack first, often launch- 
ing its body forward and striking vi- 
ciously at one’s foot extended purposely 
to receive the blow. 
While the black racer has no venom 
glands, and the danger from its bite is 
no greater than that from other puncture 
wounds, blood-poisoning may result from 
the introduction of putrefactive germs in 
decayed animal matter on the teeth, and 
it is better to avoid this possibility by 
careful handling. 
The use of a forked stick is perhaps 
the easiest method of capturing snakes, 
but pressing the foot gently and firmly 
on the head and grasping the neck is 
reasonably safe, if the species is non- 
venomous. Another method which the 
writer recommends only to test the rela- 
tive rapidity of movement of reptile and 
man, is to make a feint with the left hand 
— when the snake will surely strike — 
then grasp it quickly with the right hand 
just back of the head. A good sense of 
locality, excellent judgment of distance 
and speed are necessary to accomplish 
this successfully. An inch too far back 
and the snake will reach your hand. 
It is unwise to transport a black racer 
in a cloth bag. The snake will usually 
eject the contents of its stomach, and 
occasionally die, perhaps from suffoca- 
tion. This occurs more frequently with 
snakes other than the racer. Folded 
newspapers, perforated boxes, or glass 
jars with covers slightly raised are bet- 
ter. If no receptacle is available, and 
the snake is brought in by hand, pressure 
of the fingers should be made from side 
to side of the neck rather than from 
above and below. Both the collector and 
the snake will be less uneasy. 
The use of chloroform as a killing 
agent is unsatisfactory, as specimens 
thus treated are greatly distorted by the 
violent contraction of the muscles. Al- 
cohol is much to be preferred. 
A CRUDE experiment to test the 
** racer’s sense of hearing — the ears 
being rudimentary— was made by setting 
off an alarm clock suspended in the air 
a short distance behind the snake, and 
out of sight. Increased activity of the 
tongue — bearing the organs of hearing 
and touch — and excited side to side 
movements of the head, indicated that it 
heard and was trying to locate the sound, 
but no attempt to escape was made. The 
alarm clock was then placed directly 
upon the table and set off. Instantly the 
snake made frantic efforts to get away, 
the combined sound waves and the vibra- 
tions transmitted through the table reg- 
istering effectively. Both of the experi- 
ments were performed with the snake 
resting freely on a large sheet of glass 
and a polished table, in order to test at 
the same time the effect of smooth sur- 
faces on locomotion. The scales of the 
black racer are smooth, and very little 
progress was made in its attempted flight. 
As a snake must receive some warning 
through contact with the ground as well 
as by way of the air, the reptile’s ap- 
paratus recording danger from this 
source is important and its sensitiveness 
must be fairly acute. 
The black racer is notorious for its 
supposed “hypnotic” effect on birds and 
small mammals. While it is probably 
true that in most reported cases the real 
attitude of the bird was one of anger 
and resentment, it is not difficult to un- 
derstand how an inhibition or “fear- 
paralysis” might easily be induced by the 
darting tongue, beady eyes, and, as re- 
cently witnessed by the writer, the fas- 
cinating and “holding” effect of the very 
rapid vibrations of its tail and hinder 
body. 
S. N. F. Sanford, Massachusetts. 
HUDSONIAN GODWIT IN 
CONNECTICUT 
T HE accompanying photograph is of 
one of two mounted heads of the 
Hudsonian Godwit shot at Fairfield 
Beach, Connecticut, about 1903 by the 
late Mr. Henry S. Glover. It 
furnishes an additional record 
to those given in the “Birds of 
Connecticut” by Sage, Bishop 
and Bliss. As well as the lo- 
cality where it was taken, the 
measurements of this head are 
of interest. The bill is 3% 
inches long, longer though 
more slender than that of a 
small male Marbled Godwit. 
A very few Hudsonian God- 
wit or Ring-tailed Marlin prob- 
ably still pass Long Island each 
southward migration. 
HERON CAUGHT BY 
CLAMSHELL 
A BOUT June 22nd my two daughters 
and another young woman were on 
the shore in front of my house at East 
Marion, the tide coming in, about ten 
o’clock in the morning, and noticed some- 
thing floating on the surface of the 
water. As it came nearer it excited their 
further interest, and one of them went in 
and picked it up. It proved to be a bird 
with a quahaug attached to one claw. 
The quahaug was not one fully grown, 
{Continued on page 568) 
Head of Hudsonian Godwit 
