![]() ![]() While the snake was swallowing its prey, Fitch attempted to capture it. Fitch recorded one occasion when he observed a racer in the process of subduing a large skink. Instead, they mostly capture prey by darting forward quickly and grabbing it, often swallowing prey live. Despite their species name, racers do not kill their prey by constriction. Foraging individuals often hold the front end of the body raised above the ground. Its diet contains a mixture of small vertebrates, such as frogs, lizards and small mammals, and large invertebrates such as grasshoppers, crickets and caterpillars. As the vernacular name of 'racer' suggests, Coluber constrictor is a fast mover. The natural history of Coluber constrictor was reviewed in detail by Fitch (1963). 2017).īlue racer Coluber constrictor foxii, copyright Peter Paplanus. These include the North American whip snakes of the genus Masticophis, believed to the closest relatives of the racer (Myers et al. Most recent authors treat it as the sole species in the genus Coluber other species historically assigned to this genus from across the Holarctic region now being treated as separate. Outside the United States, it has a very patchy distribution in southernmost Canada, Mexico and northern Central America. Its distribution is centred over much of the continental United States, being found in most regions except much of the arid south-west. This moderately large non-venomous snake, with the largest individuals approaching two metres in length, is a widespread inhabitant of open habitats such fields, brushland or open woodlands. In much of North America, however, one of the most commonly encountered snake species is the racer Coluber constrictor. ![]() Snakes are, for the most part, fairly retiring animals, little seen even in areas where they may be abundant. ![]()
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