Hierophis viridiflavus
Silhouette: Ignazio Avella · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The green whip snake or western whip snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. This species is present in Andorra, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and possibly Luxembourg.
The melanic form occurs in the eastern part of the range and the striped in the western part, with a contact zone throughout most of northern Italy. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, arable land, pastureland, plantations, rural gardens, and urban areas. The green whip snake is a slender species with a small but well-defined head, prominent eyes with circular pupils, and smooth scales. The background colour is greenish-yellow but this is mostly obscured by heavy, somewhat irregular bands of dark green or black, particularly in the front half of the snake. The underparts are grey or yellowish and the tail has narrow longitudinal stripes. The young are a greyish colour and develop their full adult... Wikipedia →
Recording1:48
Italy · 2018
© brunoparisotto · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zagreb Zoo | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 2 | zoo delle Maitine | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 3 | Falconeria Locarno | 🇨🇭 Switzerland |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Green Whip Snake sighting in Cévennes National Park on a given day, based on 31 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 11th most-seen of the 18 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.
May and August
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Green Whip Snake in Cévennes National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to March, the lowest months.
Between 5 and 8 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Green Whip Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Green Whip Snake sightings, Cévennes National Park ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 30%), Mercantour National Park (France, about 30%) and Pyrénées National Park (France, about 20%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Green Whip Snake that you can see in Cévennes National Park (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Viperine Snake (about 40%), Aesculapian Snake (about 30%) and barred grass snake (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Green Whip Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Cévennes National Park (31 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.
