This record gleaned from the pages of "A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians" by Roger Conant in the Peterson field guide series. I had a 1958 copyright edition of this book as a teenager, and still have it. In my younger years I wrote the location and date where I saw and/or captured certain species directly onto the pages of this book, and thus the information to provide this record comes from that. The first 6500+ records I posted on iNat had photo documentation, but now I am posting these records which do not have photos just to provide the data point for the species and location as best as I can for the historical record.

I saw two southern black racers, Coluber constrictor priapus, at Grand Bay WMA today. One was ridiculously cooperative and the other... not so much. These photographs are not surprisingly of the cooperative one. A real champ.

The chin was much darker than usual. Very mottled and dark. No white-chin action here.

~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com

Black Racers are relatively large growing up to 60 inches. It is all black with smooth scales and large eyes. They are not aggressive and when they feel threatened, they often vibrate their tail in the leaves to mimic a rattle snake.

This black racer was oberserved at a private residence in Gillsville, Ga. The residence is in a rural farming area. The racer was first seen in the shrubs in the front of the house and the birds were going crazy while it was moving through. The tail vibrations were heard before the snake was seen so I thought it was a rattle snake until I got a visual on the snake.

Beautiful black racer, covered in pollen like everything else in the region right now. My daughter and I found it sunning itself in the woods. It was probably a bit cool and didn't dash off immediately. Instead it reared up and vibrated its tail against the dry leaves. This display is thought to mimic a rattlesnake's rattle.