Forest vine snake explained

The forest vine snake (Thelotornis kirtlandii), also known commonly as the twig snake and the bird snake (as are other members of the genus Thelotornis), is a species of venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Africa.

Taxonomy

The specific name, kirtlandii, is in honor of American naturalist Jared Potter Kirtland.^[1]

Distribution and habitat

T. kirtlandii is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, south to a latitude of about 17° S. It has been recorded from Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.^[2]

Behaviour and ecology

T. kirtlandii is known to eat small birds.

T. kirtlandii is oviparous.^[2]

Further reading

• Hallowell E (1844). "Descriptions of new species of African Reptiles". Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 2: 58-62. (Leptophis kirtlandii, new species, p. 62).
• Spawls, Stephen; Howell, Kim; Hinkel, Harald; Menegon, Michele (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. .

Notes and References

1. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("Thelotornis kirtlandi [sic]", p. 142).
2. "Thelotornis kirtlandii ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.