Diurnal and crepuscular, feeding on a variety of small prey items, including amphibians.
Least Concern
A moderate-sized, slender snake, largest Egyptian specimen has a total length of 1,090 mm. Tail / total length = 0.21-0.26. Nine supralabials, usually fifth and sixth enter the eye, 201-228 ventrals, 82-104 subcaudals, 21-23 scale rows around mid-body, anal undivided. Dorsum dark olive-brown with a pattern of dark transverse bars that start in the interorbital region and extend posteriorly on the mid-dorsum, flanked by series of dark spots. This pattern fades posteriorly, the terminal third of dorsum being plain. Venter yellow or reddish, with dark spots on the margin of each ventral. Pattern more contrasting in young animals, older adults sometimes appearing almost uniform brown.
The Nile Valley and Delta. Recorded from throughout the Egyptian Nile Valley, including Fayoum and also Wadi El Natrun and the Suez Canal region. It is also likely to expand into newly reclaimed areas east and west of the Delta, including North Sinai. Although the species was known from the section of the Nile Valley now occupied by Lake Nasser, it is not known if it exists in the region at present. Smith et al. (1998) reports a specimen collected from Qustul in 1963 (original locality now under Lake Nasser). Ibrahim (2001a) records a juvenile specimen from El Arish. He speculated that the animal was introduced into the area with material originating from the Nile Delta.
Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.
In Egypt largely confined to fluvial habitats of the Nile Valley. Found in marginal cultivated lands, fallow fields, on canal banks, wetland margins, ruins and old houses, and semi-desert.
Fairly common, but seems to have declined since Anderson's (1898) days, who described it as "probably the most common serpent in Egypt." He was obviously referring only to the Nile Valley and Delta, but even there this statement is not true today.
