Snake
a serpent, any species of the order Ophidia. The best-known harmless snake is probably the common snake, known also as the ringed or grass snake.
The black snake, of which there are two species, is also very common in the United States. The common snake has no poison fangs, but is furnished with scent glands which secrete a volatile substance of offensive and penetrating odor. Snakes are partial to damp situations and enter water readily, swimming with ease. They are very voracious and swallow their prey -frogs, mice, and small birds-alive and entire, their teeth, which are in two rows on each side of the jaws and directed backward, being too weak to tear or masticate. See SERPENT.