COACHWHIP

(Masticophis, sometimes Coluber, flagellum), snake of the family Colubridae that ranges from the southern half of the United States to west central Mexico. It averages 1.2 metres (4 feet) long, but it is occasionally twice that length. It is slender, and its tail is marked like a plaited whip. The eastern subspecies is brownish; western subspecies tend to be reddish (red racer) or black (western black racer). The swift-moving coachwhip captures lizards, small mammals, large insects, and occasionally rattlesnakes; it kills by biting while the prey is pinned under its coils. In defense it bites with a jerk of the head, causing a torn wound.