Some are single uniform colors. Others have dark or light markings organized into stripes, spots, blotches or some other pattern. Examples of the major types of color patterns are illustrated here. Uniform colors are solid colors, black, brown, tan, gray, blue or green, without any markings. On some species the color may be darker on the head and neck and become lighter on the back part of the body.
Speckles are small flecks of color.
There may be one or more speckles on each scale. Stripes are narrow lines of color that run lengthwise down the snake's body. They may be only one scale wide or may be several scales wide. Spots are small rounded marks, usually without a border. They may cover several scales.