Pseustes poecilonotus

Dos Cocorite
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Pseustes
Species:	P. poecilonotus
Binomial name
Pseustes poecilonotus (Günther, 1858)

The snake Pseustes poecilonotus (in Trinidad and Tobago known as dos cocorite, in Brazil as papa-ovo and, in English, as the puffing or bird snake) is in the family Colubridae, is non-venomous and is found from Mexico through Central America to northern and central South America and Trinidad and Tobago^[1] .^[2] It apparently eats any terrestrial vertebrate small enough to handle and is well known as a predator of bird eggs (hence some of the common names). Its color pattern is relatively consistent, darker dorsally and lighter, usually yellow, ventrally. Young snakes can be more colorful than adults and so may mistakenly be thought to be a different species. However, when handled, their behavior is similar and they will readily bite.^[3]

References

1. Peters, James A.; Donoso-Barros, Roberto (1986). Catalogue of the Neotropical Squamata. Part I Snakes. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 0-87474-757-0.
2. Boos, Hans E.A. (2001). The snakes of Trinidad and Tobago. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX. ISBN 1-58544-116-3.
3. Roper, James J.; Goldstein, Rachel R. (2001). "A test of the Skutch Hypothesis: does activity at nests increase nest predation risk?". Journal of Avian Biology 28:111-116.