Vine Snake
| Class: Reptilia:
Reptiles |
Diet: Young birds,
lizards |
| Order:
Squamata: Lizards and Snakes |
| Size: body:1.5
- 2 m (5 - 6 1/2 ft) |
| Family: Colubridae:
Colubrine Snakes |
Conservation Status:
Non-threatened |
| Scientific Name:
Oxybelis fulgidus |
Habitat: rainforest,
cultivated land |
| Range:
Central America to Northern South America |
 Barely
the thickness of a man's finger, about 1.25 cm (1/2 in) in diameter at
the most, the vine snake is a remarkably slender, elongated species. As
it lies amid the branches of forest trees, its proportions and greeny-brown
coloration make it almost indistinguishable from the abundant creepers
and vines. Its head, too, is thin and elongated and equipped with rear
fangs and mild venom. A slow-moving predator, active in the daytime and
at night, the vine snake feeds mainly on young birds, which it steals from
nests, and on lizards. If threatened, it puffs up the front of its body,
revealing vivid coloration usually hidden under scales, and opens its long
mouth wide. A frightened snake may also sway from side to side, like a
stem in the breeze.
 
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