That said, California kingsnakes are opportunistic feeders and common food items include rodents, birds, other reptiles and amphibians. This process helps with the snake's tropotaxis, which may allow the snake to become better at hunting down their prey. The snake's forked tongue will grab onto the scent particles and place those particles onto the top of the buccal cavity, or mouth, where the Jacobson's organ opens. The Jacobson's organ allows the California Kingsnake to analyze what is around it through scent particles. Instead of using nostrils, snakes have developed a forked tongue and a Jacobson's organ. The California Kingsnake, like all snakes, has a special way of "smelling". They are considered harmless to humans, but if handled it is common for this species to bite, as well as excrete musk and fecal contents from their cloaca. When they are nervous they tend to twitch their tails. When disturbed, California kingsnakes will often coil their bodies to hide their heads, hiss, and rattle their tails, which can produce a sound somewhat resembling that of a rattlesnake. In the winter, they retreat underground and enter a hibernation-like state called brumation. The California kingsnake is primarily diurnal, but may become increasingly nocturnal during periods of particularly hot weather. The striped variant, found in San Diego county.