#colubrinae

[animalids]

Bamboo ratsnake (Oreocryptophis porphyraceus vaillanti)

Photo by Kevin Messenger

[dendroica]

Red List 2019: Guam Rail second bird to recover from extinction in wild | BirdLife

The Guam Rail Hypotaenidia owstoni is only the second bird in history to come back from being declared Extinct in the Wild – the first being the California Condor Gymnogyps californianus in the late 1980s, whose plight was infamously accelerated by an accidental forest fire caused by the country singer Johnny Cash. In this year’s update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (for which BirdLife is the authority for birds), the Guam Rail follows in the footsteps of this high-profile species.

Once widely distributed across the island of Guam in the western Pacific, this fast-running flightless bird plummeted following the accidental introduction of Brown Tree Snakes Boiga irregularis by a US military cargo ship at the end of World War Two. This invasive predator has since profoundly changed the island’s ecosystem, driving three endemic bird species extinct and threatening several others with the same fate. In 1987, in a last-ditch bid to protect it, the final 21 Guam Rails were taken into captivity. Today, thanks to a 35-year captive breeding programme, a small population is now firmly established on neighbouring Cocos Island, where snakes are absent. However, as Cocos Island is just 38 hectares, the population size is likely to remain extremely small, so the species is still classed as Critically Endangered. For it to return to mainland Guam, the Brown Tree Snake would need to be removed altogether.

[animalids]

Green rat snake (Senticolis triaspis)

Photo by Steven Wong

[animalids]

Boomslang (Dispholidus typus)

Photo by Hennie van Heerden

[animalids]

Scarlet snake (Cemophora coccinea)

Photo by Dave Fitzpatrick

[dendroica]

Fox Snake (via USFWS Midwest Region)

We spotted this fox snake at Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge in Iowa. These snakes can get quite large, but are not dangerous to humans.

Photo by Jessica Bolser/USFWS.

[dendroica]

Coiled Bull Snake (via USFWS Mountain-Prairie)

Generally, the bull snake prefers loose, sandy soil that allows for easy burrowing.

Photo Credit: Shattil Rozinski/USFWS

[eduletegamifiedtest]

What Is The Aesculapian snake's Scientific Name? The Aesculapian snake, is a types of nonvenomous snake local to Europe, an individual from the Colubrinae subfamily of the family Colubridae. Growing up to 2 meters long, it is among the biggest European snakes, comparable in size to the four-lined snake and the Montpellier snake. readmore ____