Appearance

The smooth snake is slim, with a grey or dull brown body and dark bar markings.  Unlike the adder, or the grass snake, the scales are smooth, giving this snake it’s common name. It has a dark marking on the top of the head, which is often in the shape of a crown, giving rise to its generic name Coronella (which means coronet, or crown). the smooth snake also has a dark stripe running from each nostril, past the eye, and along the side of its head. Its head is an oval shape and it has round eyes and a dark red tongue.

Photo: Bernard Dupont