king snake Definition

any of various brightly marked nonvenomous colubrid snakes (genus Lampropeltis) chiefly of North and Central America that have glossy, smooth scales and usually a striped, blotched, or speckled pattern and that typically feed on rodents, birds, frogs, lizards, eggs, and other snakes

a king snake of the eastern and southeastern U.S. that is reddish with black and yellow or whitish bands and is typically 14 to 27 inches (36 to 69 centimeters) in length