A metallic green jewel of the Amazon – Two-Striped Forest Pitviper, from Peru a few years back.

A metallic green jewel of the Amazon – Two-Striped Forest Pitviper, from Peru a few years back.

Collared Treerunners (Plica plica) are one of the larger arboreal lizards seen occasionally hiking in Peru. At night they sleep in trees, mostly high and out of sight. But sometimes they are in the understory and can be photographed.

Coachwhips are out and about on even the hottest days, rarely active at night. But they can still be found where they sleep, which is often up in trees high off the ground. We spotted this one doing just that just above eye level on a late night hike. These long, slender snakes are great climbers, and this is a reasonably safe spot for such an animal to evade predators and get off the hot ground.

Peru, 2023
