Often, a dark line angles from the eye down to the jaw. The belly is yellow or creamcolored, with dark brown or black spots along the side. Commonly considered a prairie species, it may also be found in open areas along the border of the Ozarks. Bullsnakes take shelter in large clumps of grass or mammal burrows. This large snake may hiss loudly and vibrate its tail when alarmed.
Food includes small mammalsespecially rodentsas well as birds and birds' eggs.
This species is extremely valuable in controlling destructive rodents. Bullsnakes kill their prey by constriction. Statewide except for the southeastern third of the state. The belly may be yellow, cream or light blue-gray. Racers prefer bushy fields, grasslands and open woods.