Coronella austriaca is widespread across continental Europe but occupies only a narrow edge of its range in Britain, where it survives on fragments of dry lowland heath in a few southern counties. It is inconspicuous, spending much of its time under vegetation and sunning itself only partly exposed, so it is under-recorded even where present.
Habitat explains the distribution. The snake depends on mature heather with a varied structure, on bare sandy patches for basking, and on the sand lizards and common lizards that form the bulk of its diet. Lowland heath in England has been lost to conversion for agriculture, forestry and building over the past two centuries, leaving small isolated remnants.
Its hunting is distinctive. Rather than constricting to kill in the manner of a python, it seizes a lizard and holds it in loops of the body while swallowing it, often alive. It is non-venomous and harmless to humans, and it receives full legal protection in Britain, where it is an offence to kill, injure, capture or disturb one or to damage its habitat.