Chrysopelea pelias
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The twin-barred tree snake (Chrysopelea pelias) is a species of colubrid snake found in Southeast Asia. It is also called the banded flying snake. It can glide, as with all species of its genus Chrysopelea, by stretching the body into a flattened strip using its ribs. It is fully arboreal, mostly found in moist forests, and can cover a horizontal distance of about 100 metres in a glide from the top of a tree. It is an oviparous snake.
Chrysopelea pelias belongs to the genus Chrysopelea, which contains four other described species. Chrysopelea is one of five genera belonging to the vine snake subfamily Ahaetuliinae, of which Chrysopelea is most closely related to Dendrelaphis, as shown in the cladogram below:
It is found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, and Myanmar. It was erroneously reported in India. Chrysopelea pelias has an overlapping range with the paradise tree snake (Chrysopelea paradisi) in Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and Indonesia. However, Chrysopelea pelias is not nearly as common as the paradise tree snake.
Chrysopelea pelias begins gliding by jumping in an upward position that seems to be different from... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bako National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 3 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Flying Snake sighting in Bako National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 18th most-seen of the 20 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, April and October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Banded Flying Snake in Bako National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March, May–August and November, the lowest months.
Between 4 and 7 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Banded Flying Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Yes
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Banded Flying Snake sightings, Bako National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Danum Valley Conservation Area (Malaysia, about 20%) and Gunung Leuser National Park (Indonesia, about 10%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Banded Flying Snake that you can see in Bako National Park (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Common Bronze-back (about 40%), Oriental Whipsnake (about 40%) and Gray Bronzeback (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Banded Flying Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Bako National Park (5 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
