Field notes, v1308
Page 131
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. | www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
Greene, IT. 1991 August 4 (continued) located C. molossus #3 ~50m east of this AM's site, across the road (S. side). Snake is stretched out w/ slight curves, immobile, and slow tongue-flicks - probably saw me. It is on the N. edge of the bottom of the Silver Creek channel, amidst junipers and rocks. I head back, and 1.3 mi. W. of Portal Rd. on the Paradise Rd. at 1630h I see an adult ♀ C. molossus (930+69mm, 455g) frozen, rod straight in mid road, head up- slope. She coils, rattles, and makes a couple of flash strikes as I catch her w/ tongs. Drove down to Hwy 80 and back. At 1735h C. molossus #3 is on the N. side of the road near the top of a 4m high embankment, ~50m farther E. of last site. Snake is stretched out w/ faint curve, immobile, head turned back toward me (I approached on the road). I walked W. to touch, drove down & checked embankment w/ binoculars at 1740h - no snake! At 1751h I found him shielded in open, immobile, ~30m NE of last site. I dropped to ground out of view and w/in seconds he resumes crawling slowly, moving rectilinear, w/ lots of tongue flicks. Travels ~20m to the W. by 1806h when I leave. After dinner I road hunted to Hwy 80 on Portal Rd., got only two fresh kit ♀ adult Pituophis ; saw 3 dead neonate, 1 dead small adult, and 1 live small adult C. atrox. August 5 I located C. molossus ♂ #3 at 0847h, ~75m NW and uphill from last site, crawling stretched out under a