A large Blacktailed Rattlesnake from the southeastern corner of Arizona. These snakes can be beautiful – a high contrast black and yellow with rainbow iridescence in the sunlight.
Arizona Black Rattlesnake In The Sun
Tag: Cochise County
Banded Rock Rattlesnake from Arizona
A colorful Banded Rock Rattlesnake from southeastern Arizona. These small rattlesnakes, when encountered, almost always quickly flee. This may be accompanied by a high pitched rattle that could easily be ignored as a cicada, or not heard at all.
An interesting note on these snakes: of all of the ranchers, hunters, and cabin owners I’ve talked to in the field over the years, none of them have heard of this snake. Despite being exceedingly common in the right habitat, they’re apparently easy to miss or at least mistake as something else.
Blacktailed Rattlesnake Morning Bask
A young Blacktailed Rattlesnake moving up from the rock wall where it lives to catch morning sun in southeastern Arizona. Structures like this provide a range of options, allowing the snake to very precisely control its temperature – warming when it needs to, and retreating to shade as the day gets hot.
Desert Kingsnake
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 of the subtropical Sonoran.
Regal Horned Lizard
This Regal Horned Lizard decided that basking right in the middle of a busy road was a good idea. It wasn’t. But from the look on its face, my moving it to an anthill a short distance away was not appreciated.
Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake Close Up
The face of the Arizona state reptile, an Arizona Ridgenosed Rattlesnake found in the Madrean oak grasslands of the sky islands. These small snakes rattle is reduced to sound more like an insect than what most expect from a rattlesnake. Despite being common, most of the ranchers and residents in the area that I’ve spoken with over the years have never heard of it – a testament to its cryptic lifestyle.
Banded Rock Rattlesnake
A Banded Rock Rattlesnake with a pink belly found in southeastern Arizona last year. These small snakes are quick to rattle but seldom stand their ground, opting to flee into bunchgrass or dive into jumbles of rock.
