A black snake was spotted basking on a man-made brush pile at Huntley Meadows Park, Fairfax County, Virginia USA. This individual is either an Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) or Northern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor constrictor).
25 OCT 2017 | Huntley Meadows Park | black snake
According to Kevin Munroe, former manager at Huntley Meadows Park, Eastern Ratsnake can be differentiated from Northern Black Racer by looking at their eyes.
Northern Black Racers have a huge, all-black eye with an “eye-brow” ridge (makes racers look angry and somewhat dangerous all the time), while ratsnakes have noticeably smaller eyes with a black/white pupil/iris pattern (which makes them look more friendly/human). Also racers would never sit still long enough for you to take pictures, or at least it would be harder. Ratsnakes are pretty laid-back and easy to approach, while racers are very skittish and quick to flee. Ratsnakes mostly eat small mammals and young birds/eggs, while racers feed mainly on other herps like snakes, lizards and frogs. Ratsnakes are stealth/tracking hunters that smell out nests of young rodents and birds, while racers are active chasers/hunters/sprinters, which may be why they have such different personalities. Source Credit: Kevin Munroe.
25 OCT 2017 | Huntley Meadows Park | black snake
Based upon Kevin’s guidance, I think this individual is an Eastern Ratsnake.
25 OCT 2017 | Huntley Meadows Park | black snake
Another black snake was spotted on the ground, about 20 feet from the brush pile. The snake wasn’t moving, but the vegetation was too dense to get a clear view of the subject.
Related Resource: Another black snake, a blog post by Walter Sanford.
Copyright © 2018 Walter Sanford. All rights reserved.
Tags: Coluber constrictor constrictor, Eastern Ratsnake, Huntley Meadows Park, Northern Black Racer, Pantherophis alleghaniensis, vernal pool
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January 17, 2018 at 8:10 am |
I believe black rat snakes such as this have keeled scales. Black racers have smooth scales.
January 17, 2018 at 9:56 am |
That’s good snake scale knowledge, Timothy! My next blog post features close-up photos of another Eastern Ratsnake in which the keels can be seen more clearly than in the wider views shown here.
January 19, 2018 at 8:38 pm |
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