KING SNAKE

(Lampropeltis), any of seven species belonging to the family Colubridae. They occur in numerous habitats from southeastern Canada to Ecuador. King snakes are so called because they eat other snakes, including venomous ones; they kill by constriction and are largely immune to pit-viper venoms. They also take small mammals, amphibians, birds, and birds' eggs. King snakes are mainly terrestrial and rather slow-moving, lay about 10 eggs at a time, and fight when cornered but soon become gentle. They are strikingly marked, smooth-scaled snakes, usually less than 1.2 m (about 4 feet) long, with small heads and tails. The common king snake (Lampropeltis getulus) is found throughout the United States and in northern Mexico. It is usually black or dark brown, variously blotched, ringed, or speckled with yellow or white; some specimens are nearly 2.1 m long. The common milk snake (L. triangulatum, sometimes doliata) occurs over most of the range of the genus. It is less than 1.3 m long and has black-bordered reddish brown rings or saddles separated by white or yellow. It often enters barns and cellars to catch mice; hence another name, house snake. Other prey includes small birds, snakes, and lizards. It is said to milk cows in pasturea worldwide folktale attached to several kinds of snakes. The scarlet king snake (L. elapsoides; considered by some to be a race of the milk snake) is a small species of the southeastern United States. The scarlet king snake and several other species are sometimes called false coral snakes because their red, yellow, and black rings mimic the colour pattern of coral snakes.