Indian Egg-eating Snake

The Indian egg-eating snake, or Westermann's snake, is a rare colubrid endemic to the Indian subcontinent. It is glossy brown to black, with bluish-white flecks towards the rear and a creamy stripe down the middle of the back from neck to tail tip. The head is brown with a black arrow mark and the belly is white with brown dots. Adults reach about 78cm in total length (Wikipedia, general species account).

It lives in forest and shrubland at 40 to 1,000m and is active by day or night. It is terrestrial but shows remarkable dexterity in climbing vegetation. It feeds exclusively on bird eggs that lack embryonic growth; the only other snakes with these egg-eating adaptations are in the African genus Dasypeltis. It is found in Bangladesh, India and Nepal.