Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Coluber constrictor priapus
Southern Black Racer

Mingo Swamp, Missouri. Spring 1984

When you meet a five foot Black Racer in the field, several illusions are manifest - the snake seems twice as long as it really is, and it seems to glide away twice as fast as it really moves. Its maximum speed is 10-12 mph.  In southern Illinois they are quite common on rocky slopes, both wooded and open.  Like other members of Coluber, I encounter them in pairs more often than not (does anyone else out there find this to be true?)

Never have I seen a black Southern Black Racer; they've always had lovely, deep blue overtones to them.  Often they sport a 'khaki nose'. They are gorgeous, and to see one gliding across a rocky hillside like some dark hell-bound train is a sight not soon forgotten.