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Getting in its hunting position and ending up like a coiled spring buried below the sheoak needles - you can just see its little black tail which it wiggles to attract prey (on the right in the lower frame as viewed).
First time I've seen one and the first snake I've felt intimidated by. It was warming up on the rocks when I first saw it. It turns out this was lucky for me as it then proceeded to cruise along the edge of the outcrop and hide itself in its hunting position at the edge of the granite where I had just walked. I doubt I would have spotted it and would probably have disturbed it. At least now they've developed anti-venom 50% of bites from this snake aren't deadly...
Bilder-Atlas zur wissenschaftlich-populären Naturgeschichte der Wirbelthiere
Wien :K.K. Hof-und Staatsdruckerei,1867.
biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4024234
Bothrops jararaca was responsible for 52% of snakebites in southeastern Brazil from 1902-45. W/ this pic, u believe it! biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4024234
medium sized snake, with a slender to moderate build and a smallish head barely distinct from the neck. Body colour may be almost any shade of brown, ranging from near black to light tan, chestnut or burnt-orange. The head colour of dark individuals may be slightly paler than the rest of the body, but otherwise the dorsal colour is fairly uniform (a very few scattered dark scales may be present). Hatchlings have a prominent dark patch on the top of the head and across the nape, and some hatchlings also have dark bands down the entire length of the body. These markings fade as they mature, however in some populations the bands are retained into adulthood. Ventral surface is cream, yellow or orange, and blotched with pinkish-orange, brown or grey. Body scales are smooth and slightly glossy. Eyes are medium size and shadowed by an obvious brow-ridge. The iris is usually orange thickly rimmed with black, and the pupil is round. Midbody scales in 17 rows, ventrals 185-235, anal scale divided, subcaudals divided (rarely a few single anterior scales).
Average around 1.5m (total length). The largest specimen reliably measured and recorded had a total length of 6 feet, 7 1/4 inches (= 2013 mm). There is some suggestion that snakes in the northern part of the range are larger than those in the southern part.
In the wild, Eastern Brown Snakes eat a variety of vertebrates, including frogs, reptiles and reptile eggs, birds and mammals, particularly introduced rats and mice. Smaller snakes, up to a snout-vent length of about 70 mm, eat proportionally more ectothermic prey, such as lizards, while larger snakes tend to consume more warm-blooded prey.
Brown snakes hunt by actively looking for prey and searching in likely hiding places. They have good eyesight and once prey is detected they will give chase and subdue the prey using both venom and constriction. Eastern Browns are mainly diurnal hunters however during very hot weather they may delay foraging until late in the afternoon / early evening.
Breeding activity for Eastern Brown Snakes begins in mid to late spring. In the wild, males have been observed engaging in ritual combat for access to receptive females. The combating snakes intertwine tightly and wrestle for up to half an hour or more, with each snake trying to push down and overpower the other. Females start to develop yolking follicles between early and late spring (mid-September to end of November), and have oviducal eggs from mid-spring to early summer (late October to late January).
Females can lay up to 25 eggs (15 on average) in a clutch, and in captivity females have been recorded coiling around their eggs for several hours after laying, which may be seen as a low level of maternal care, or possibly just the snake recovering from the exertions of labour. Depending on the incubation temperature the eggs may take from 36 days (30ºC) to 95 days (25ºC) to hatch. Under favourable conditions females may be able to lay several clutches in one season. - See more at: australianmuseum.net.au/eastern-brown-snake#sthash.qfl6QU...
A very beautifully-patterned youngster. Rescued from a worksite at Mango Hill (north of Brisbane), Queensland, Australia.
Lacerta agilis.
The courtship starts with the male biting the female around the waist and tail to see if she's ready and willing, if she's not she will usually shake him off and run away!!
Dorset heathland.