milk snake

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various nonvenomous king snakes of the species Lampropeltis triangulum ranging from the eastern and central United States south to Ecuador, often having red, black, and yellow or white bands. Also called house snake, milk adder.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A handsome and harmless serpent, Ophibolus eximius, of the family Colubridæ, common in many parts of the United States. It attains a length of about 3 feet; the coloration is yellowish-gray, with a dorsal series of 50 or more elliptical chocolate black-bordered blotches, and on each side two other alternating series of blotches; the abdomen is yellowish-white with square black blotches. It is also called chicken-snake and thunder-and-lightning snake.

Wiktionary

1. n. Any of various snakes, Lampropeltis triangulum, with smooth and shiny scales and typically a pattern of colours that runs red-black-yellow or white-black-red.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. a harmless American snake (Ophibolus triangulus, or Ophibolus eximius). It is variously marked with white, gray, and red. Called also milk adder, chicken snake, house snake, etc.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. nonvenomous tan and brown king snake with an arrow-shaped occipital spot; southeastern ones have red stripes like coral snakes