Analysis of homing pattern in the colubrid snake Coluber viridiflavus

Movements performed by eleven specimens of Coluber viridiflavus were recorded for two years in a hilly area of central Italy. Each snake homed to a primary shelter after each excursion. The primary shelter was also used as a hibernaculum. Excursions could be classified in three ways: simple loops lasting only one day, complex loops lasting two or more days and characterized by the use of secondary shelters, and large loops lasting up to about one month and having a total length up to 3 km. The three kinds of excursions were related to distinct functions. simple loops were performed almost exclusively to reach basking sites; complex loops were exploratory trips, probably related to foraging; exceptional excursions were related to reproductive activity. Males were generally more mobile than females. Their home ranges were larger than those of the females (0.17 +/- 0.06 ha and 0.05 +/- 0.01 ha, respectively) as regards the core area (minimum convex polygon enclosing all the positions recorded during simple loops); the outer area (polygon enclosing all the fixes recorded during complex loops) was about the same size in both sexes (0.99 +/- 0.01 ha in the males and 0.95 +/- 0.31 ha in the females, respectively).