Coachwhip (Coluber flagellum)
The Coachwhip (Coluber flagellum) is a notably long and slender snake, measuring between 3 to 8¼ feet (90-260 cm) in length. Its appearance is highly variable, with colors ranging from tan, gray, pink, black, to reddish-brown or olive-brown, often adorned with broad crossbars. The scales are smooth, and its eyes are large with round pupils. Young Coachwhips may exhibit dark brown or black blotches or bands on a light brown background. Its scales give it a distinctive braided appearance, resembling a whip.
This species is widely distributed across the southwestern United States, extending south through Baja California and Mexico, with three recognized subspecies in Arizona: the Sonoran Coachwhip, Lined Coachwhip, and Red Racer. They inhabit a diverse range of environments, including deserts, prairies, grasslands, woodlands, and cultivated lands, adapting to elevations from below sea level to 7700 feet (2350 m).
Coachwhips are diurnal and agile hunters, often seen actively foraging during the morning and late afternoon, with speeds reaching up to 3.6 miles per hour. They primarily prey on small mammals, birds and their eggs, lizards, snakes (including rattlesnakes), frogs, young turtles, insects, and even carrion. Their hunting strategy includes both active pursuit and ambush tactics, with the latter technique occurring more frequently during the hotter months of summer.
Reproduction occurs in spring, with females laying clutches of 4 to 20 eggs, usually in June and July, which hatch in late summer. Coachwhips are known for their aggressive behavior when handled, commonly biting and sometimes feigning death. They may also climb into vegetation or seek refuge in burrows to avoid predators.
Despite their adaptability and predatory prowess, Coachwhips face threats from vehicles and predation by coyotes, kit foxes, raccoons, and birds of prey. They can live up to 13 years, although mortalities due to various parasites and diseases, including blood protozoans, cestodes, flatworms, and chiggers, also occur.
References:
Stebbins, R. C., & McGinnis, S. M. (2018). Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians (4th ed.). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Brennan, T. C. (n.d.-a). Coachwhip. The reptiles and amphibians of Arizona. https://reptilesofaz.org/snakes-subpages/h-c-flagellum/
Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum). Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. (n.d.-a). https://www.desertmuseum.org/books/nhsd_coachwhip.php
Clark, H. (n.d.). Coachwhip. Tucsonherpsociety.org. https://tucsonherpsociety.org/amphibians-reptiles/snakes/coachwhip/
Identification: 36-102 inches (91-260cm). The wedged lower preocular scale, smooth scales in 17 rows at midbody (13 or fewer just before vent), and lack of well-defined lengthwise stripes are diagnostic. Coloration highly variable. Throughout most of our area, general tone above is tan, gray, cream, pink, or red, usually with black crossbars on neck. Occasional individuals are black. Slender body and tail, and scalation suggesting a braided whip, have earned common name.
Young: Blotched or crossbanded with dark brown or black on a light brown background. Black neck markings may be present or faint or absent.
Frequents a variety of habitats: desert, prairie, scrubland, juniper-grassland, woodland, thornforest, and farmland. Generally avoids dense vegetation. Ground surface may be flat or hilly, sandy or rocky. More tolerant than most snakes of dry, warm environments, hence abroad by day in hot weather, even in deserts when many lizard species are also active. Crawls with great speed, often taking refuge in rodent burrow, among rocks, or in branches of a bush where it may defend itself with spirit, hissing and striking repeatedly, and sometimes approaching aggressively. When handled, usually attempts to bite; large individuals can severely lacerate skin. Clutch of 4-20 eggs, laid June-July. Eats small mammals (sometimes including bats), birds and their eggs, lizards, snakes (including rattlers), frogs, young turtles, insects, and carrion.
