Tail colors help to classify rattlesnakes. Timber rattlesnakes have black tails with crossbands that are hard to identify. Rattlesnake coloration also aids them in protection. Their hues tend to blend well with their environment. The pattern and colors in sexual dimorphism is important to the timber rattlesnakes, unlike most rattlers.
Females tend to be yellowish and the males tend to be more black.
Albinism, which is a pigment deficiency, has been observed in timber rattlers. In Massachusetts at Black Rock, Mt. Everett, a young albino was found on the edge of a rock ledge. In a years time, another was found on the same ledge. The fact that they were both found in this one area is unusual. However, this has been a big controversy.