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154 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 MITCHELL AND PRINCE

Dominican Racers (Alsophis antillensis sibonius) may use either active foraging or sit-and-wait foraging strategies. 

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Alsophis antillensis is a diurnally active snake found on the
islands of Guadeloupe, Monserrat, and Dominica in the

Lesser Antilles. The subspecies A. antillensis sibonius is found on
Dominica, the most southerly of the three islands, where it is
widely distributed, particularly in dry forests on the leeward
slopes and coast (Malhotra and Thorpe 1999).

Buteo platypterus (Broad Winged Hawk) is a small (ca.
34–45 cm tall), forest-dwelling hawk found throughout eastern
North America, northern South America, and the Caribbean

Basin, where it feeds on a wide variety of small vertebrates
(BirdLife International 2004).

While radio-tracking Iguana delicatissima on Dominica in
June 2008, we encountered a B. platypterus struggling on the for-
est floor in the Batali River Valley. Upon closer inspection, we
discovered a large A. antillensis sibonius defensively constricting
the bird’s neck, right leg, and right wing. After several minutes
of watching, the hawk’s struggles became weaker and it could no
longer stand. In an attempt to observe the head of the snake,

A Predation Attempt Gone Awry:
Defensive Constriction of a Predator 

by a Dominican Racer
Adam Mitchell1 and Lyndon Prince2

124 London Road, Widley, Portsmouth, Hampshire, U.K., PO7 5BS (adammitchell23@hotmail.com)
2Salisbury Village, Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies

IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 155DOMINICAN RACERS

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A large Alsophis antillensis sibonius defensively constricting the neck, right leg, and right wing of a young Broad Winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus). 

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which was hidden under the litter, we moved a leaf and acciden-
tally startled the Alsophis, which struck at us several times before
releasing the hawk and moving into the litter, revealing a super-
ficial head wound as it fled.

After release, the hawk stumbled on an apparently numbed
right leg and seemed unable to flex its right wing; upon return-
ing to the site approximately three hours later, however, we
observed the bird, seemingly unharmed, flying between trees.

Acknowledgements
We thank Bob Powell and Bob Henderson for providing com-

ments on this note. This observation was made while conduct-
ing research on Iguana delicatissima in Dominica. That project
is funded through the Center for Conservation and Research for
Endangered Species (CRES) at the Zoological Society of San
Diego.

Literature Cited
BirdLife International 2004. Buteo platypterus. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN

Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>.

Malhotra, A. and R.S. Thorpe. 1999. Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern
Caribbean. Macmillan Education, Ltd., Oxford and London, UK.

Normally diurnal West Indian anoles (Polychrotidae: Anolis)
are known to exploit insects attracted to artificial lights

well into the night (e.g., Perry and Fisher 2006, Henderson and
Powell 2009). Secondary exploitation of nocturnal anoles by a
typically diurnal predator, the Puerto Rican Racer (Alsophis por-
toricensis), has been reported on hotel grounds on Guana Island,
British Virgin Islands (Perry and Lazell 2000).

At 1915 h (transition to full dark) on 18 June 2008, we
observed a male Dominican Racer (Alsophis antillensis sibonius;
SVL 525 mm, tail 247 mm) in a foraging position at the base
of a light frequently used by a nocturnally active Dominican
Anole (Anolis oculatus). The observation occurred on the
grounds of the Sunset Bay Club at Batali Beach, on the leeward
coast of Dominica, Lesser Antilles.

Based on our experiences, exploitation of the night-light
niche has become commonplace among West Indian anoles
associated with urban areas and other situations in which artifi-
cial lighting is prevalent at night (e.g., hotels, resorts). However,
both situations in which snakes have been observed exploiting
the night-light niche (Guana Island, Batali Beach) have been
“snake-friendly”; that is, guests and personnel of the hotels are
instructed not to harm snakes that enter areas frequented by
humans. Under more typical circumstances (i.e., where snakes
would be killed or, at least, removed from the area), we doubt
that snakes would have the opportunity to learn to exploit this
potentially productive trophic niche.

Acknowledgements
Marcella and Roger Dutrieux Cools, owners of the Sunset Bay
Club tolerated our eccentricities. Mr. Arlington James, Forest
Officer, Forestry, Wildlife, and Parks Division, Ministry of

156 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 15, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2008 POWELL AND HENDERSON

A Dominican Anole (Anolis oculatus) exploiting the night-light niche
on the grounds of the Sunset Bay Club at Batali Beach, Dominica.

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Exploitation of the Night-light Niche 
by a Dominican Racer

Robert Powell1 and Robert W. Henderson2

1Department of Biology, Avila University, Kansas City, MO 64145, USA (robert.powell@avila.edu)
2Section of Vertebrate Zoology, Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI 53233, USA (henderson@mpm.edu)

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