They will also spend winter in human structures such as stone walls, building foundations, abandoned wells, and cisterns. They may also overwinter in caves, sometimes along with other species such as western ratsnakes, and they are known to move around within a cave to select the optimum temperatures for overwintering.

In more open habitats, racers may overwinter in animal burrows, such as those made by mammals and crayfish. On wooded, south-facing hillsides, this species will overwinter beneath rocks, within rock crevices, and within rotting logs and stumps. They appear to be most abundant within the remaining sand prairie and sand savanna habitat of southeastern Missouri. They have been observed along swamps near limestone bluffs, soybean fields, and brushy areas near drainage ditches in southeastern Missouri. The southern black racer subspecies has been less studied in Missouri. They are highly visual and often seen raising their head or “periscoping” in grassland habitat to view the world around them.Įastern yellow-bellied racers live in a wide variety of habitats, including native prairies, grasslands, pastures, old fields, glades, brushy areas, forest edges, and agricultural fields. During spring and fall, racers are often found on rocky, wooded, south-facing hillsides. Racers are also good climbers and can be found basking in small trees or bushes.

Active during daytime, they can be observed searching for food or basking on sunny days. Racers are active March through November, with a peak from late April to early August. The southern black racer is usually uniformly dark gray to bluish black and has a prominent white chin and throat. It is the only subspecies occurring in the Bootheel lowlands. Similar species: In about the southeastern half of Missouri, the eastern yellow-bellied racer subspecies overlaps with and/or is replaced by the southern black racer subspecies ( Coluber constrictor priapus). When captured, they struggle violently, bite viciously, and discharge musk and waste matter from their vents. When alarmed, racers try to escape quickly and sometimes vibrate their tails. The juvenile pattern fades with age, and by the third season most or all of the dorsal spots disappear.

The belly of young racers is normally cream colored with some dark gray speckling. Hatchlings and young racers are strongly patterned with closely spaced gray or brown mid-dorsal blotches and smaller, alternating spots on the sides over a tan ground color. Racers have a slender body, proportionately long tail, smooth body scales, and a divided anal plate (the last belly scale, which covers the anal opening). The belly is yellow, ivory, or light blue gray.

The eastern yellow-bellied racer is a medium to large, slender, smooth-scaled snake with a uniform but variable dorsal (upperside) color - adults three years of age or older can be tan, brown, olive, blue, gray, or nearly black.

Coluber constrictor foxii diet