Chrysopelea, The Flying Snake

For most people, flying snake looks like just a myth or stuff of Hollywood movie, but if they go to the jungle of South and Southeast Asia they will realize that it’s not just a myth.
Chrysopelea or more commonly known as the flying snake, is endemic to Southeast Asia (the mainland, Greater and Lesser Sundas, Maluku, and Philippines), southernmost China, India, and Sri Lanka.
Flying snake is not actually flying. It glides from tree to tree using the speed of fall and its body’s contortion to catch the air and generate lift.
Flying snake will slither to the end of a tree’s branch until its tail dangles in a J-shape from the branch’s end. It propels itself from the branch by thrusting its body up and away from the tree, flattens to about twice its normal width, and turns its body in a pseudo concave wing, which can trap air. By making a continual serpentine motion of lateral undulation back and forth, the snake can stabilize its direction in midair and land safely.

Scientist are still figuring out why flying snake flies, but it’s likely it flies to hunt prey, to move from tree to tree to save energy compared to travel on the jungle ground, and escape from predators.
Flying snake is mildly venomous but its toxicity is not dangerous to humans. Their tiny and fixed rear fangs make them harmless to humans.
The smallest species reach about 2 feet (61 centimeters) in length and the largest grow to 4 feet (1.2 meters). Chrysopelea hunt during the day and it’s known to hunt frogs, birds, rodents, lizards, and bats.

Sources: Wikipedia, National Geographic