Description: This is a long, slender, striped non-venomous snake. Adults range in size from 30 to 72 inches total length. The belly is white and the underside of the tail is pinkish or coral colored. The eyes are large and the pupil is round.

Habitat: Habitats include shrublands, arid grasslands, sagebrush flats, canyons, pinyon-juniper woodland, pine-oak woodland, and rocky stream courses. Microhabitats are terrestrial and arboreal. This snake retreats underground or into deep crevices in cold weather. Eggs usually are laid in abandoned small mammal burrows (sometimes communal with conspecifics or with other snake species).

Range: The range extends from southeastern Washington and southern Idaho south through Oregon, eastern California, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, western and central Texas, Chihuahua, western Coahuila, Durango, and Zacatecas to northeastern Jalisco; the eastern and southern range limits in Mexico are poorly understood. The elevational range extends to 3,077 meters in Inyo County, California

Found in these States: AZ | CA | CO | ID | NM | NV | OR | TX | UT | WA

Diet: Young eat mainly lizards; adults eat mainly lizards and small mammals. Also eats insects and small birds.

Reproduction: Breeding takes place after they emerge in the spring. Females lay eggs in July, and clutch sizes range from three to seven. The incubation period is 44 to 58 days.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the large and probably relatively stable extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size. There are no major threats known.

Taxonomy: