De Kay's snake, DeKay's brown snake
The Brown snake (Storeria dekayi) is a small non-venomous species of snake native to North and Central America.
Dorsally, this snake is brown to gray with a lighter center stripe bordered by small black spots; ventrally, it is light brown or pink with small black dots at the ends of the ventral scales. The dorsal scales are keeled, and it has no loreal scale. Females exceed males in snout-vent length and number of ventral scales while males exceed females in tail length, head dimensions, and number of subcaudal scales.
Brown snakes are native to Southern Ontario and Quebec, most of the eastern half of the United States, through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and possibly El Salvador. These snakes live in different habitats including forests, riparian woodlands, wet meadows, savannas, grasslands, and wetlands. They are also common in urban areas.
Brown snakes are generally solitary and can be found together only during hibernation or during the mating season. During cold winter months, they hibernate in communal dens usually in rocky outcrops or burrows of small rodents. These snakes are nocturnal and during the day they usually hide under logs, rocks, leaves, and other cover. When they feel in danger, Brown snakes flatten themselves against the ground to appear larger and if picked up release a foul-smelling musk.
Brown snakes are carnivores; they primarily feed on slugs, snails, and earthworms. They may also consume other invertebrates such as sowbugs, mites, and millipedes.
Brown snakes are polygynous which means that males mate with more than one female during a single breeding season. These snakes mate in spring after emergence from hibernation. Females give birth to 3-31 live young in the late summer. Snakelets are born fully developed but usually stay with their mother for some time. They become reproductively mature at 2-3 years of age.
There are no major threats to Brown snakes at present.
According to IUCN, the Brown snake is locally common and widespread throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
Due to their diet habits, Brown snakes control populations of slugs, snails, and earthworms. They also serve as important prey species for local predators.