Calamaria schlegeli
Silhouette: Mason McNair · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Calamaria schlegeli is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is known commonly as the red-headed reed snake, white-headed reed snake, and pink-headed reed snake. It is native to Southeast Asia, where it occurs in the Malay Peninsula (Malaysia, Singapore), Borneo (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia), and in several Indonesian islands, including Sumatra, Java, Bali.
The specific name, schlegeli, is in honor of German herpetologist Hermann Schlegel. The key identification characters for C. schlegeli are modified maxillary teeth and scale characteristics. The third and fourth upper lip scales touch the eye. The mental scale does not touch the anterior chin shields. The nasal scales are oriented laterally. There is considerable geographic variation. Preocular scales are present in snakes from Singapore and Malaya, but absent in those from Java, and sometimes present on those from Borneo and Sumatra.
This nonvenomous red-headed snake is sometimes confused with the venomous blue Malayan coral snake (Calliophis bivirgatus) and the red-headed krait (Bungarus flaviceps), in an example of Batesian mimicry where a non-venomous animal protects itself... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pink-headed Reed Snake sighting in Singapore on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 61st most-seen of the 64 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pink-headed Reed Snake in Singapore on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 pm and midnight
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pink-headed Reed Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
Only Singapore, in our data
Singapore is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Pink-headed Reed Snake sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Pink-headed Reed Snake that you can see in Singapore (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Oriental Whipsnake (about 20%), Common Bronze-back (about 20%) and Paradise Flying Snake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pink-headed Reed Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Singapore (5 verified sightings), 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.
