Striped bronzeback

It is a long, slender snake that can reach about 1.5 m, with a head a little wider than its neck. The back is brown, with bold black stripes running from the neck to the tail along each side, set against pale cream or yellowish bands. The head is plain bronze-brown with large eyes and pale yellow lips.

Unlike the painted bronzeback, it has no thick black stripe through the eye, and the scales along the middle of its back are narrow, not enlarged. Its scientific name, caudolineatus, comes from the Latin for tail and line, probably for the stripes that run all the way to the tail.

It is native and widespread, but seen far less often than the painted bronzeback. It lives in forest, scrub, park edges and gardens, and has been recorded in Bukit Timah and Central Catchment nature reserves, rural areas and offshore islands. It is often found near streams, swamps and the edges of other water bodies. It was first reported from Singapore in 1847, and a 1923 account called it common. After a long gap with no published sightings, one was seen on a road at the Kent Ridge university campus in 1988. It was then reported often through the 1990s.

It once included snakes from Thailand to the Philippines and Maluku. In 2012 scientists split it into eight species. The true striped bronzeback lives in southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore, Sumatra and Borneo.

It eats mainly frogs and lizards. It is also reported to take young birds from nests.

It is active by day and spends much of its time in low trees and shrubs, but it often comes down to the ground and has been seen in grassy areas next to woodland. It is fast and alert and usually moves away quickly when it sees people. Males are usually slimmer and more brightly marked than females.

It lays eggs. A hatchling found in Singapore's central forests measured about 30 cm.

No. It has no venom. Because it is a fair-sized snake, it may bite if grabbed or cornered, but it prefers to escape. It sits at GIVE SPACE on the danger scale.