A Montpellier or lizard snake of southern Europe is a fast, agile predator that mainly catches lizards and small birds. Adults also eat other snakes and small mammals, and the young eat invertebrates. Montpellier snakes usually live in warm, dry habitats, but they sometimes occur in damp woods and on riverbanks, occasionally entering the water to swim. It is the largest of all the colubrid snakes that occur in Europe, with a maximum length of over six feet.