Dendrelaphis tristis
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Dendrelaphis tristis (Common bronzeback or Daudin's bronzeback) is a species of colubrid tree-snake found in South Asia. It is not venomous, and harmless to humans. Dendrelaphis tristis belongs to the genus Dendrelaphis, which contains 48 other described species.
Dendrelaphis is one of five genera belonging to the vine snake subfamily Ahaetuliinae, of which Dendrelaphis is most closely related to Chrysopelea, as shown in the cladogram below: Dendrelaphis tristis is found in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Bhutan, although its presence is uncertain in Myanmar, Bhutan, and Pakistan. It is diurnal and fully arboreal. It lives in various types of forests, from dry deciduous to semi-evergreen, and has even been reported in urban gardens and parks.
Dendrelaphis tristis is a long, slender snake with a pointed head and a bronze-coloured line running right down its back. It is camouflaged among the leaves because of its uniform ruddy brown skin. Its diet includes geckos, garden lizards, frogs, and small birds. It is not venomous, and harmless to humans.
The snake has oviparous... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jabalpur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 2 | Visakhapatnam | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 3 | Hyderabad | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Kolkata | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 5 | Chennai | 🇮🇳 India |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nehru Zoological Park | 🇮🇳 India |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Bronzeback Tree Snake sighting in Minneriya National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 17th most-seen of the 19 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October and December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Bronzeback Tree Snake in Minneriya National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–June, August and November, the lowest months. Those are among Minneriya National Park's wettest months, with about 230 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in June.
Between 5 and 8 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Bronzeback Tree Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Common Bronzeback Tree Snake sightings, Minneriya National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 20%).
Same family: Colubridae
The closest relatives of the Common Bronzeback Tree Snake that you can see in Minneriya National Park (family Colubridae, Colubrid Snakes) are Green Vine Snake (about 20%), Dhaman (about 20%) and Indian Flying Snake (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Bronzeback Tree Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Minneriya National Park (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.
