Ninia atrata
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Ninia atrata, known commonly as Hallowell's coffee snake, Hallowell's earth snake, the red-nape snake, and the South American coffee snake, is a species of small terrestrial snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to southern Central America and northern South America.
N. atrata is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela. The preferred natural habitats of N. atrata are forest and savanna, at altitudes from sea level to 1,000 m (3,280 ft). N. atrata is believed to feed on insect larvae, termites and slugs.
N. atrata is oviparous. Angarita-Sierra T (2017). "Ninia atrata (Hallowell 1845), Viejita". Catálogo de anfibios y reptiles de Colombia 3 (2): 30–37. (in Spanish). Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Ninia atrata, p. 104).
Hallowell E (1845). "Description of Reptiles from South America, supposed to be new". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 2: 241–247. (Coluber atratus, new species, pp. 245–246). La Marca E, Esqueda LF, Manzanilla J (2004... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main Ridge Forest Reserve | 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hallowell's Coffee Snake sighting in Main Ridge Forest Reserve on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 19th most-seen of the 24 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.
August and November–December
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Hallowell's Coffee Snake in Main Ridge Forest Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in January–April, July and September, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hallowell's Coffee Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Main Ridge Forest Reserve, in our data
Main Ridge Forest Reserve is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Hallowell's Coffee Snake sightings: about 20% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Hallowell's Coffee Snake that you can see in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Venezuelan Cat-eyed Snake (about 30%), Black-backed Snake (about 30%) and Cloudy Snail-eating Snake (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hallowell's Coffee Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Main Ridge Forest Reserve (7 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.
