Courtship Behavior of the Rough Green Snake, Opheodrys aestivus (Colubridae: Serpentes)

Courtship behavior of Opheodrys aestivus was observed in captivity. It consisted of visual orientation toward the female by the male, followed by approach, body contact, and alignment. Motor patterns observed included head-jerking, tail waving, dorsal crawling, and chin-rubbing. Following alignment, males began tail search copulatory attempt bouts, a complex motor pattern consisting of chin-rubbing, tail waving, writhing, tail searching, and copulatory attempts. Alignment was achieved in an average of 2 min 45 s, and copulatory sequences averaged 16 min 4 s. Copulation was not observed. The courtship behavior of O. aestivus, an arboreal species, shows several differences from other colubrid species.