Colubridae

Sonoran Whipsnake

Masticophis bilineatus

Nonvenomous
Sonoran Whipsnake
(c) Rob Foster, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0 · Image source ↗Displayed copies may be resized; the full image is preserved.

A closer look

Sonoran Whipsnake (Masticophis bilineatus) is native to Arizona and New Mexico. This fast-moving, sharp-eyed daytime hunter is most often associated with open grassland, scrub, desert, woodland edges, and rocky country and typically feeds on lizards, rodents, birds, insects, and small snakes.

Habitat
Open grassland, scrub, desert, woodland edges, and rocky country
On the menu
Lizards, rodents, birds, insects, and small snakes
Behavior
A flexible hunter whose activity and escape behavior vary with habitat and temperature.
Observe without handling

Not considered venomous to people. Observe without handling, and never corner or relocate a wild snake.

Safety & bite guidance ↗
Listen to this snake’s field note ↗

Where it is listed

A sense of place.

2 jurisdictions
Sonoran Whipsnake: jurisdiction presenceHighlighted jurisdictions: Arizona, New Mexico. This map shows checklist presence, not local occurrence.ALASKAHAWAIITERRITORIESPR · VIGU · AS · MP
Source-listedProvisionalNo record in this snapshot

Checklist presence only. A highlighted state is not a local range boundary. Territory tiles are schematic.

State & territory checklist

About continuous range data

A verified habitat-model layer is not available for this species in this release. Earlier broad sketches connected jurisdiction locations; they did not show measured occurrence or USGS habitat predictions.

Use USGS distribution resources ↗ for available modeled habitat data.