A Twin Spotted Rattlesnake in habitat at the top of a mountain in southern Arizona. These are rattlesnakes that are often mistaken as a non-venomous species due to their small size and head that is not as strongly differentiated from the neck as people expect. They are rarely seen by hikers, but a “what is this snake?” photo of one tends to pop up a few times a year from the Santa Rita mountains south of Tucson.

This is a young individual that I spotted as I climbed up to the ridgeline from a fruitless search below. It never made a sound, but slipped silently into the rocks to escape, as they do. I surely walked past a dozen more, who performed this disappearing act with better timing.