โน Compare two snakes
Coachwhip vs Eastern Indigo Snake
Tap a part to see it on both. Tap it again to turn it off.
(c) Matthew Lumsden, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Coachwhip
Masticophis flagellum
Non-venomous(c) Jacqueline Raiford, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Eastern Indigo Snake
Drymarchon couperi
Non-venomousThe quick way to tell
Look at the back half of the body. The Eastern Indigo Snake is glossy blue-black from head to tail. The Coachwhip is black only on the head and neck and turns tan toward the tail.
Pattern โ
This settles it
Two-tone - dark head and neck fading to tan, pink or cream toward the tail, or the reverse.
Solid glossy blue-black all over, including the belly, with blue or purple shine in sunlight. Young snakes are glossy black with narrow whitish-blue bands.
Head
Small narrow head with large eyes; barely wider than the neck.
Black head; the chin, throat and sides of the head are often reddish, orange-brown or cream.
Eyes
Round pupil in a large eye - a sight hunter; no heat-sensing pit.
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Pits
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
Tail
Very long and tapering like a braided whip; no rattle.
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What it does
Races off with its head raised; bites hard if cornered.
Not aggressive and avoids people. If threatened it may flatten its head, hiss and vibrate its tail, but it rarely bites. It is an active hunter that often searches along the edges of wetlands.
Where it lives
Southern US from California, southern Nevada and southwestern Utah east across Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas to the Carolinas and Florida.
US Southeast only: Florida (throughout, very rare in the Keys), southeastern Georgia, and a reintroduced population in southern Alabama. Once found in southern Mississippi and possibly southern South Carolina.