eastern brown snake?

[badger]

My son and I came across this guy in Maquoketa Caves State Park, IA. Initially he tried to slither off the path but when I blocked his way he just coiled up and glared at us.

The head shape looked kind of like a rattlesnake but one of the rangers id'd the pics as an eastern brown. They said these guys flex their neck bones to mimic a rattlesnakes' head shape when threatened.

Pretty cool little guy. Glad we had the chance to see him!

Badger

[infernalis]

Nice Storeria.....

[brandonh]

great pics , you don't see dekay snakes that type of defense like that too often or not here atleast. they are normally pretty calm when i pick them up. thats is also a very nice sized one great find

[marvelfreak]

Cool pictures and i learn something new. I had never heard of the flexing neck bones to mimic a rattler before. Really cool defense.

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by marvelfreak

Cool pictures and i learn something new. I had never heard of the flexing neck bones to mimic a rattler before. Really cool defense.

Storeria (brown snakes & red bellies) will do this, Garter snakes & water snakes do too.

I have several photos of brown snakes flaring out wide to appear bigger, it's funny, they get squished down really thin, but from above (where the predator would be) they appear bigger than they really are.

Flaring out the cheeks is one bluff, another is to vibrate the tail in the grass or leaves to mimic rattlesnake sounds.

Most Lampropeltis species (milk snakes) will rattle their tail against something and mimic a rattlsnake sound. Often leads to the demise of an innocent milk snake, as people fear them as the rattlesnake they pretend to be and kill them for it.

[marvelfreak]

I seen the tail rattle done before from a Pine snake and a Garter snake.

[brandonh]

i have also sen black rats and even black racers rattle their tails to mimic rattlesnakes