The rattlesnake appears to vary in color and markings in the different localities where it is found, and there are fourteen or fifteen varieties, but all carry the rattles, shake them warningly, and coil before they strike. The rattlesnake does not want to fight and if you keep at a safe distance it will glide off in another direction, but it is safest not to venture within striking distance, which is said to be two-thirds the length of the snake, even if the snake has not coiled, for it moves quickly and strikes like a flash.
The rattles are at the extreme end of the tail and are composed of horny joints. The sound of the rattle is much like the humming of a locust (cicada). Rattlesnakes are often found sunning themselves on large rocks, and stone-quarries are the chosen winter quarters where whole colonies assemble. They are also found, during the summer, among underbrush and in stubble-fields, where they probably go to hunt field-mice and other small mammals.
Banded Rattlesnake
The mountains of Pennsylvania are a favorite resort of the rattlesnake, but, though I have passed many summers in Pike County, famous for its snakes, the only live one I ever saw in that locality was in a box at Rowland station. The men of our party occasionally killed one and brought it to camp as a trophy, but one of our weekend guests spent most of his time hunting the rattler that he might take its skin back to the city, yet without success.
It is the banded rattlesnake that is usually found in Pennsylvania. The color is yellowish and it is marked with irregular, wide bands of dark brown. Sometimes the snake is almost black, and it is thought that it turns dark with age.
Diamond Rattlesnake
The rattlesnake marked in diamond patterns of gold outline on brown is of the south and is oftenest found in Florida. This is a very large snake, and closely allied to it is the Texas rattlesnake, which is the same in markings and color, but paler, as if faded out.
Massasauga
The massasauga is the rattlesnake occasionally found in the swamps from western New York to Nebraska, but it is rare. Its color is light brown with patches of dark brown its entire length.
Copperhead