Description: Adults of P. bairdi may reach 25 to 55 inches in total length (including tail). The dorsal color pattern consists of an orange-yellow to bright yellow, or a darker salmon ground color, overlaid with four stripes that run from the neck to the tail. The belly is generally gray to yellow, darkening near the tail.

Habitat: Habitats include a wide variety of vegetational associations, from Chihuahuan desert scrub in Texas to Sierra Madrean pine forest in Tamaulipas. In Texas, this terrestrial and arboreal snake inhabits wooded rocky canyons of Edwards Plateau, pinyon pine-needle grass uplands in Chisos Mountains, barren road-cut bluffs with scattered seep willow, and mesic canyons in montane forest and low desert areas in the Trans-Pecos region. Rocky, igneous or limestone habitats apparently are favored, especially those with caves, deep crevices, and/or sheer canyon walls; eaves and wooded crevices associated with ranch outbuildings are also occasionally used.

Range: P. bairdi is found in the United States in the Big Bend region of western Texas, as well as in northern Mexico in the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas. It is known to be elusive and hard to find in the wild.

Found in these States: TX

Diet: Probably eats birds and their eggs, lizards, and small mammals.

Reproduction: P. bairdi is oviparous. Lays clutch of up to 10 eggs in midsummer; eggs hatch in about 3 months

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the probably relatively stable extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size. This species has a limited distribution and area of occupancy, but it is not threatened across most of its range.

Taxonomy: