The racer hunts by stealth, but actively, obtaining its prey by keen eyesight and swift movements. Wright and Bishop (1915:160) wrote that because of its great speed it can catch anything that moves on the ground. As a racer moves stealthily through dense vegetation, its dull, uniform dorsal color blends well with the surface litter of dead plant material. In prowling, the snake glides along rapidly and alertly, in a jerky fashion, with frequent momentary pauses and changes of direction. Because of its inconspicuousness, it is not likely to be detected by the prey until it is close at hand. The snake is ready to dash in pursuit of any small animal that flies, jumps or runs to escape. On August 27, 1955, my daughter observed a large racer hunting among tall weeds at the edge of the pond on the Reservation. Several times in the course of its movements, it flushed small frogs (_Rana pipiens_) and each time the snake darted in unsuccessful pursuit of the rapidly hopping frog. On several occasions I have been led to a blue racer by the distressed croaking of a frog that the snake had captured. In each instance, despite my cautious approach, the racer saw me before I detected it, and then darted away, abandoning its prey. On one occasion, while I was still a few yards from the racer, and before the latter had detected me, the frog broke free and hopped away rapidly through tall grass and weeds, and after several leaps, hid, concealed by dense screening vegetation. The racer darted in pursuit but could not find the frog. For several minutes the snake persisted in an active search; with forebody elevated and head held high, it would turn first in one direction and then in another, with nervous, jerky movements, obviously keyed up to a high pitch of excitement. Then it became aware of my presence, lowered its head, and glided away rapidly, abandoning the search. Although the racer depends to a large extent on sight to find its prey, scent may play some part also, as indicated by the presence in the food of young mammals taken from nests, some probably found underground. Near Garnett, Kansas, on May 4, 1952, Richard B. Loomis found a racer attacking a collared lizard (_Crotaphytus collaris_) beneath a large flat rock. The lizard was retaliating by biting the snake's neck. The posterior part of the snake protruded into the open, and its thrashing had directed the attention of the observer to it. Whether the racer first found the lizard under the rock, or followed it there after flushing it in the open is unknown.