A very cleanly patterned Prairie Rattlesnake found in the New Mexico bootheel over the summer. These snakes, when caught out in the open, can be dramatically defensive. Coiling, moving sideways, and striking repeatedly. They also often opt not to rattle but curl the tail into a half-looped display, which is typical for the species throughout […]

An Arizona Black Rattlesnake from an exposed desert mountain hiding from the sun. This snake is entirely black, missing the lighter-colored bands that are usually retained by the species into adulthood. Above at the crest of the hill, an outcrop of basalt serves as its den, throwing rocks down the bajada between a spring and […]

A Blacktailed Rattlesnake from just north of Phoenix, found on a long night hike of remote desert canyons. These snakes specialize in mountainous, rocky habitat, and are almost never found in the flats unless moving between nearby hills. They’re large rattlesnakes and often seen by hikers and hunters.

In the southeastern corner of Arizona, kingsnakes look different than the black and white banded pets many people are familiar with. This Desert Kingsnake, as an example, of a more speckled, chain-link pattern and somewhat more colorful base color. This is, with much variation, similar to how they’ll look throughout the Chihuahuan desert, and much […]

A Baja Ratsnake we found late at night in Baja California Sur, showing some iridescence in the camera flash.

A Northern Cottonmouth from a quick trip to Texas in 2024. In about 6 hours, I lost count of how many there were. These are large, interesting snakes with complex social behavior, which are unfortunately well stuck in the monster that is the American urge to believe in nonsense. All of them, as did every […]

A Malabar Pitviper from southern India a couple of years ago on a wet night in the Western Ghats. After seeing a few of them, the convergent similarities in form and behavior with new world vipers, like the eyelash vipers, is amazing.

Banded Rock Rattlesnake from southeastern Arizona. These snakes, typically the males, can have a metallic blue-green shine along the back and outline of black bands, often against other bright pinks, blues, and orange. It matches the lichen covering rocks where they live. This one is a good example of a mature male of the species […]

To another small snake, this is a terrifying sight. A venomous snake-eating specialist that will take prey almost as large as it is by clamping down tight and flipping over, using its atypically long body as an anchor. After releasing, it follows the mortally wounded snake, face to face, watching it until it either dies […]