Eastern Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum flagellum)

Description:    Coachwhips are long, slender, and fast-moving snakes, typically 3-6 ft (0.9-1.8 m), with the largest individuals exceeding 8 ft (2.4 m). They are among some of the longest snakes found in the United States. The head is narrow with large eyes and round pupils. The body tapers to a long, flexible, braided “whip-like” tail, giving their name. Scales are smooth which give a somewhat glossy appearance. As adults, their head and necks are typically black, and as you move toward the tail, it becomes a lighter tan or brown color, giving a two-tone look. Juveniles are paler and have faint, irregular bands down the body, with white blotching on the face and chin. They are the fastest snake species in the region (and among the fastest in North America), and use this speed to pursue prey, or retreat into mammal and gopher tortoises to escape predators.

Range and Habitat:    Coachwhips are widespread across the southern U.S. into northern Mexico. The Eastern Coachwhip (M. f. flagellum) are found from North Carolina south through Florida, and west to eastern Texas, and north to Missouri. West of this range, other subspecies of M. flagellum are present. In the Southeast, eastern coachwhips are strongly associated with xeric, open canopy habitats. Sandhills, longleaf pine, Florida scrub, and old fields with sparse midstory. They have large home ranges, and tend to avoid lowland swamps, or floodplain habitats. In longleaf pine landscapes, coachwhips are open canopy specialists, selecting frequently burned areas and inhabit patches quickly after burns. Use of upland sandhills and former pastures is common, and they rely heavily on burrows as thermal and refuge sites.

Habits:    Coachwhips are diurnal (active during the day) and are one of the most surface-active snakes in the Southeast. Individuals travel long daily distances, often crossing habitat edges while foraging.

They actively pursue prey and have a generalist diet including lizards (racerunners, fence lizards), small mammals (cotton rats, deer mice), snakes (racers, rat snakes), and birds, while juveniles occasionally consume large invertebrates (cicada, grasshoppers). Coachwhips, unlike many snakes, feed on smaller meals more frequently rather than large meals infrequently, which may explain their high surface activity. They typically do not constrict but rather eat their prey live. Coachwhips are important for regulating lizard, small mammal, and snake populations, while they themselves are a food source for birds of prey, coyotes, raccoons, and snakes (especially indigo snakes and kingsnakes).

When threatened, coachwhips usually flee. If cornered, they may vibrate the tail, strike repeatedly, and excrete a foul musk. They are harmless to humans.

Breeding occurs from spring to early summer. Females lay clutches of 4-24 eggs on average in warm, dry substrates such as sandy soils, mammal burrows, or under logs. Hatchlings emerge in late summer between July-August. Nesting data for coachwhips is limited in the Southeast, but their favor of well drained upland sites with available burrow networks likely support optimal conditions for egg deposition.

Conservation Status:    Eastern coachwhips are regionally common where open, frequently burned uplands persist, and are listed as a species of Least Concern. However, coachwhips are vulnerable to habitat loss/fragmentation that disrupts large ranging movements and reduces refuge availability. Because of their large daily movements, they are also at high risk of road mortality, which is one of the greatest threats for population declines. Management that allows for regular burns and keeps patches of scrub or longleaf pine habitat intact are crucial for protecting coachwhip populations. They are protected by law in the states of Georgia and South Carolina.

Pertinent References

• Halstead, B. J., H. R. Mushinsky, & E. D. McCoy. 2009. Masticophis flagellum selects Florida scrub habitat at multiple spatial scales. Herpetologica 65:268-279
• Halstead, B. J., H. R. Mushinsky, & E. D. McCoy. 2008. Sympatric Masticophis flagellum and Coluber constrictor select vertebrate prey at different levels of taxonomy. Copeia 2008(4):897-908
• Dodd, C. K., Jr., & W. J. Barichivich. 2007. Movements of large snakes (Drymarchon, Masticophis) in north-central Florida. Florida Scientist 70:83-98
• Myers, E. A., et al. 2017. Coalescent species tree inference of Coluber and Masticophis. Copeia 105(4):640-648Howze, J. M., & L. L. Smith. 2021. The influence of prescribed fire on site selection in snakes in the longleaf pine ecosystem (including Eastern Coachwhip). Forest Ecology and Management 481:118703