THE DIET OF THE 4-LINED SNAKE (ELAPHE-QUATUORLINEATA) IN MEDITERRANEAN CENTRAL ITALY

The feeding habits of the four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata) wer e studied in a hilly, Mediterranean locality in central Italy (Tolfa m ountains, province of Rome). The adult prey consisted exclusively of r odents (about 77% of the diet) and birds (including nestlings and eggs , about 23% of the diet). Birds represented the main part of the diet during spring-time (April, May and June), whilst rodents accounted for 100% of the diet from July to November. The juveniles were found to p rey exclusively on lacertid lizards. There was a significantly positiv e correlation between prey mass and predator mass, but the snakes tend ed to prey on organisms of small size in relation to themselves. Some general remarks on the snake assemblages of the Tolfa mountains are al so presented.