Okay, just one of them.The first warm day in a while brought out this green tree snake (Dendrelaphis punctulata). One of our few colubrids, this species is common in forests in northern and eastern Australia. The colour varies from the standard green to blue to black. The black (or very dark green) form often has a brilliant yellow belly and looks as though it's enamelled.
Green tree snakes feed mostly on frogs and lizards, from which they pick up a fascinating range of parasites. They are not venomous, but put on a show when irritated, inflating the throat and hissing and giving you a hell of a surprise if you're not expecting a snake to be in the shrubbery two feet from your face.
This one had plenty of room to make a clean getaway. It moved like lightning when it was no longer happy being the centre of attention, slithering into the forest and up the nearest tree. If the warm weather continues, I expect the scrub pythons will be on the move too. I hope the brush turkeys take note.
