Aptly named, racers are very fast and typically flee from a potential predator. They are curious snakes with excellent vision and are sometimes seen raising their heads above the height of the grass where they are crawling to view what is around them. Most smaller prey items are simply swallowed alive. Despite their specific name, constrictor, they do not really employ constriction, instead simply subduing struggling prey by pinning it bodily, pressing one or two coils against it to hold it in place instead of actually suffocating it. Juveniles often consume soft-bodied insects and other small invertebrates, as well as small frogs, small reptiles (including lizards and snakes and their eggs), young rodents, and shrews. Some subspecies are known to climb trees to eat eggs and young birds. Their diet consists primarily of small rodents, other mammals (as large as small cottontail rabbits), frogs, toads, small turtles, lizards, and other snakes. The eastern racers are fast-moving, highly active, diurnal snakes. As they grow older, the dorsum darkens and the juvenile pattern gradually disappears. Juveniles are more strikingly patterned, with a middorsal row of dark blotches on a light ground color. All subspecies have a lighter-colored underbelly: white, light tan, or yellow in color. "Runner" is sometimes used instead of "racer" in their common names. Most are solid-colored as their common names imply: black racers, brown racers, tan racers, blue racers, or green racers. The patterns vary widely among subspecies. A typical adult specimen will weigh around 556 g (1.226 lb), with little size difference between the sexes. constrictor is found throughout much of the United States, on both sides of the Rocky Mountains, but it also ranges north into Canada and south into Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.Īdult eastern racers can typically vary from 50 to 152 cm (20 to 60 in) in total length (including tail) depending on the subspecies, but a record-sized specimen measured 185.4 cm (73.0 in) in total length. The species is monotypic in the genus Coluber.Ĭ. Eleven subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies, are recognized, which as a group are commonly referred to as the eastern racers. The species is endemic to North America and Central America. The eastern racer, or North American racer ( Coluber constrictor), is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae.
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