633:), which is also common within the same range. The bullsnake capitalizes on this similarity by performing an impressive rattlesnake impression when threatened. First, it hisses, or forcibly exhales through a glottis or extension of the windpipe. The end of the glottis is covered by a piece of cartilage known as the epiglottis, which flaps back and forth when air is exhaled from the right lung, producing a convincing rattling sound. It also adopts a rattlesnake-like "S-curve" body posture as though about to strike. It commonly vibrates its tail rapidly in brush or leaves, and flattens its head to resemble the characteristic triangular shape of the rattlesnake. These defensive behaviors are meant to scare away threats, however, and not to sound an attack.
613:
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as possible. Bullsnakes, however, are not fast movers and often must take other defensive actions. When threatened by anything as large as a human, a bullsnake's next defensive action is to rear up and make itself look as large as possible, while at the same time hissing at the perceived threat. It typically then begins lunging and retreating at the same time to escape.
623:
When bullsnakes detect live objects too big to be prey, they seem to perceive the object as a predator and take defensive action. Their first action is to remain quiet, not moving. Then, when they feel they are able to move away from the object, their next line of defense is to move away as quickly
645:
Bull snakes breed in March or April (depending upon their location) and usually lay their eggs in April, May, or June (again, depending upon when the snakes breed.) They typically lay 12 eggs in sand or other protected areas and leave the eggs to incubate unprotected. Clutches of five to 22 eggs
511:
Adult bullsnakes average about 4 to 6 ft (1.2 to 1.8 m) in length, and specimens of up to 8 ft 4 in (2.5 m) have been recorded. Possibly being the largest subspecies of gopher snake on average, mature specimens can have an average weight in the range of 1–1.5 kg
512:(2.2–3.3 lb), though the heavier known specimens can attain 3.6–4.5 kg (7.9–9.9 lb), with larger specimens being quite bulky for a colubrid snake. This makes bullsnakes among the largest snakes native to Canada and the United States, although they are generally not as long as
603:
is sometimes given as a reason for humans not to harm bullsnakes when encountering them in the wild; however, a study of 1000 bullsnakes found only two had rattlesnake in their stomach contents, so this is a very rare occurrence.
636:
In contrast to rattlesnakes, which usually keep their tails elevated to sound the most efficient rattle, bullsnakes tend to keep their tails in contact with the ground, where they can be vibrated against leaves, for example.
592:. Their climbing proficiency enables them to raid bird nests (and birdhouses) to eat the nestlings or sitting mother. One snake can eat five small birds within 15 minutes. Juvenile bullsnakes depend on small lizards,
627:
Bullsnakes can sometimes be mistaken for rattlesnakes and killed. Owing to its coloration, dorsal pattern, and semikeeled scalation, it superficially resembles the western diamondback rattler (
660: in) long. The eggs typically hatch in August or September. Baby bull snakes are 20–46 cm (7.9–18.1 in) at hatching. Their color is grayish until after their first shed.
775:
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blotching. The blotching pattern is large blotches on top, three sets of spots on the sides, and bands of black on the tail. Many color variations have been found, including
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1020:. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornell University Press. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes). (
281:
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1241:
853:
Sterner RT, Petersen BE, Shumake SA, Gaddis SE, Bourassa JB, Felix TA, ... Ames AD (2002). "Movements of a bullsnake (
544:
and white varieties. A scale count is required to distinguish juvenile bullsnakes from other juvenile gopher snakes.
52:
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Though some bullsnakes can be docile, and with some time become accustomed to handling, most are quite defensive.
401:
234:
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881:(1975). "Weight-Length Relationships in Thirteen Species of Snakes in the Southeastern United States".
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A Field Guide to
Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition
790:
714:
Peterson Field Guide to
Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, 4th ed.
1037:
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have been observed. The eggs are elliptical, leathery, rough, sticky, and up to 70 mm (
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Reptiles and
Amphibians: A Guide to Familiar American Species: A Golden Nature Guide
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Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi): COSEWIC assessment and status report 2017
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Essai sur la physionomie des serpens, Volume II., Partie
Descriptive
1004:. New York: Simon and Schuster. 160 pp. ("Bull Snakes", pp. 96-97).
857:) following predation of a radio-collared northern pocket gopher (
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Uetz, Peter, Paul Freed, R. Aguilar, and J. Hošek (eds.). (2021)
1143:
734:
Peterson Field Guide to
Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 4th ed.
593:
581:
441:
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569:
537:
736:
Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. xiii, 560 pp.
716:
Houghton
Mifflin Co., Boston, Massachusetts. xiii, 494 pp.
691:. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins university Press. xiii + 296 pp.
712:
Powell, Robert, Roger Conant, and Joseph T. Collins. 2016.
335:). The bullsnake is one of the largest/longest snakes of
616:
Bullsnake, aggressively posturing under perceived threat
837:. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Books.
926:, pp. 163-164 + Plate 18 + Figure 46 (map) on p. 161).
1085:
920:
Fieldbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada
1018:Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada
732:Stebbins, Robert C. and Samuel M. McGinnis. 2018.
19:For other species sharing this common name, see
1048:, new species, pp. 157–158.) (in French).
1024:, pp. 604-609, Figure 175 + Map 46 on p. 589).
8:
939:. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp.
1272:Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States)
1044:. Amsterdam: M.H. Schonekat. 606 + xv pp. (
1073:
795:. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 89.
599:The idea that bullsnakes occasionally eat
38:
29:
922:. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp. (
516:nor as heavy or as large in diameter as
669:
835:Snakes of the United States and Canada
7:
343:, reaching lengths up to 8 ft.
833:Ernst, Carl; Ernst, Evelyn (2003).
817:"Western North American Naturalist"
504:Bullsnake crossing a highway near
14:
863:Western North American Naturalist
689:The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles
368:In Mexico, bullsnakes are called
51:
758:http://www.reptile-database.org
1282:Taxa named by Hermann Schlegel
1:
1252:Reptiles of the United States
552:Bullsnakes are very powerful
971:"Bullsnakes vs Rattlesnakes"
580:, as well as ground-nesting
428:. States in the US include
276:Pituophis melanoleucus sayi
1298:
1059:Animalspot.net: Bull Snake
779:(accessed March 13, 2022 )
18:
1267:Fauna of the Great Plains
314:is a large, nonvenomous,
312:Pituophis catenifer sayi)
203:
196:
177:
170:
48:Scientific classification
46:
37:
32:
1262:Fauna of Northern Mexico
1117:Pituophis catenifer sayi
1087:Pituophis catenifer sayi
1066:Pituophis catenifer sayi
1022:Pituophis catenifer sayi
764:(accessed March 5, 2022)
701:Pituophis catenifer sayi
404:, ranging from southern
402:Midwestern United States
396:) occurs throughout the
394:Pituophis catenifer sayi
289:Pituophis catenifer sayi
263:Pituophis catenifer sayi
181:Pituophis catenifer sayi
1277:Fauna of Western Canada
1257:Fauna of Central Mexico
1237:Snakes of North America
975:Have Snakes Will Travel
773:Government of Canada:
617:
508:
351:The subspecific name,
955:(paperback). ("Genus
789:Roots, Clive (2006).
615:
503:
16:Subspecies of reptile
1016:, Wright AA (1957).
969:Betty (2009-07-10).
903:Encyclopedia of Life
899:"Bull Snake Details"
754:The Reptile Database
924:Pituophis sayi sayi
918:, Davis DD (1941).
855:Pituophis catenifer
762:Pituophis catenifer
520:. They are usually
332:Pituophis catenifer
246:Pituophis sayi sayi
216:Pityophis sayi sayi
1247:Reptiles of Mexico
1242:Reptiles of Canada
859:Thomomys talpoides
823:on 20 August 2013.
618:
509:
271:& Wright, 1957
1219:
1218:
1079:Taxon identifiers
935:Conant R (1975).
802:978-0-313-33544-0
722:978-0-544-12997-9
697:978-1-4214-0135-5
596:, and baby mice.
506:Glenrock, Wyoming
400:and parts of the
376:: corn, /coatl/;
355:, is in honor of
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149:P. catenifer
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685:Grayson, Michael
681:Watkins, Michael
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978:. Retrieved
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821:the original
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641:Reproduction
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601:rattlesnakes
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554:constrictors
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518:rattlesnakes
510:
478:South Dakota
470:North Dakota
416:south, into
406:Saskatchewan
398:Great Plains
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327:gopher snake
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207:Coluber sayi
206:
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157:Subspecies:
147:
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27:
21:
1191:NatureServe
1165:iNaturalist
1111:Wikispecies
959:", p. 198).
888:(1): 31-37.
792:Hibernation
677:Beolens, Bo
496:Description
372:(/sentli/;
1226:Categories
1038:Schlegel H
980:2021-07-06
916:Schmidt KP
879:Gibbons JW
843:1588340198
703:, p. 234).
664:References
560:, such as
466:New Mexico
422:Tamaulipas
418:Nuevo León
363:Thomas Say
360:naturalist
323:subspecies
321:. It is a
125:Colubridae
111:Suborder:
33:Bullsnake
1232:Pituophis
1014:Wright AH
957:Pituophis
584:, birds'
486:Wisconsin
450:Minnesota
347:Etymology
308:bullsnake
235:Stejneger
143:Species:
136:Pituophis
115:Serpentes
71:Kingdom:
65:Eukaryota
22:Pituophis
1196:2.104296
1102:Q4113884
1096:Wikidata
1040:(1837).
1000:(1956).
998:Smith HM
687:(2011).
608:Behavior
474:Oklahoma
462:Nebraska
454:Missouri
434:Illinois
430:Colorado
370:cincuate
357:American
339:and the
316:colubrid
293:—
280:—
267:—
250:—
233:—
220:—
198:Synonyms
189:Schlegel
121:Family:
105:Squamata
95:Reptilia
85:Chordata
81:Phylum:
75:Animalia
61:Domain:
1157:6162132
1144:1250345
655:⁄
590:lizards
558:mammals
542:albinos
538:reddish
524:, with
490:Wyoming
458:Montana
438:Indiana
410:Alberta
378:Náhuatl
374:Náhuatl
325:of the
295:Collins
252:Schmidt
239:Barbour
191:, 1837)
131:Genus:
101:Order:
91:Class:
1183:209409
994:Zim HS
951:
943:
841:
799:
740:
720:
695:
522:yellow
488:, and
446:Kansas
426:Mexico
414:Canada
408:, and
297:, 1997
284:, 1975
282:Conant
269:Wright
258:, 1941
254:&
241:, 1917
237:&
224:, 1900
1209:94858
1170:60347
1131:7HRSD
594:frogs
582:birds
566:moles
534:black
530:white
526:brown
482:Texas
382:snake
319:snake
256:Davis
1204:NCBI
1178:ITIS
1152:GBIF
949:ISBN
941:ISBN
861:)".
839:ISBN
797:ISBN
738:ISBN
718:ISBN
693:ISBN
588:and
586:eggs
570:rats
562:mice
548:Diet
442:Iowa
420:and
353:sayi
306:The
222:Cope
1139:EoL
1126:CoL
699:. (
384:).
1228::
1206::
1193::
1180::
1167::
1154::
1141::
1128::
1113::
1098::
996:,
973:.
901:.
886:31
866:62
760:,
756:,
683:;
679:;
576:,
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568:,
564:,
532:,
528:,
492:.
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448:,
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424:,
412:,
380::
365:.
983:.
905:.
805:.
657:4
653:3
650:+
648:2
329:(
310:(
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