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Definition of egg eating snake
egg eating snake
Plural:egg eating snakes
• noun
1
Any of several species of non-venomous colubrid snakes, native primarily to the African continent and parts of the Indian subcontinent, characterized by a highly specialized diet consisting entirely of bird eggs which they swallow whole, crush with specialized neck vertebrae, and then regurgitate the empty shells.
Example
"During the biology field trip to South Africa, the students were amazed to watch an egg eating snake unhinge its jaws to consume an egg much wider than its own head."
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.
180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer
Cite this Entry
Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Egg eating snake. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Oct 17, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/egg%20eating%20snake