Description: A medium-sized slender snake with a head not much wider than the cylindrical body with smooth shiny scales. Black, red, and off-white or grayish-white rings circle the body. The red bands are noticably wider than the others, with the white bands wider than the black. Some black bands may widen and cross over the red bands on the back, especially in populations in the Santa Monica Mountains. A red band surrounded by two black bands is referred to as a "triad." On this subspecies there are 18 - 39 triads, with an average of 33. Typically, 60 percent or more of the triads have complete red bands with no black crossovers. The bands continue around the belly, but the coloring is paler, and the black and white bands are reduced in size giving the belly a reddish coloring. The nose is black sometimes with some red.

Habitat: A habitat generalist, found in diverse habitats including coniferous forest, oak-pine woodlands, riparian woodland, chaparral, manzanita, and coastal sage scrub. Wooded areas near a stream with rock outcrops, talus or rotting logs that are exposed to the sun are good places to find this snake.

Range: Lampropeltis multifasciata is composed of all populations in the Peninsular Ranges and in the Transverse Ranges, north into the Coast Ranges just south of Monterey Bay, California, including the disjunct population on Isla Sur of Islas Todos Santos, Baja California, Mexico.s

Found in these States: CA

Diet: Eats lizards, small mammals, nestling birds, bird eggs, amphibians, and occasionally snakes, including its own species.

Reproduction: Mating takes place a few weeks after emergence in the spring. Females are oviparous, laying eggs from June-July which hatch after 50 - 65 days.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Taxonomy: MYERS (2013) split L. zonata into vL. zonata and L. multifasciata based on molecular data. The two “species” are not distinguishable morphologically but they “inhabit distinct climatic environments”.