This paper presents the results of a study conducted on the species composition of serpent fauna in Trashigang Territorial Forest Division (TTFD), Bhutan.  The survey was conducted from August 2019 to September 2020.  The study aimed to assess the diversity, conservation threats, and distribution of both venomous and non-venomous snakes in different habitat types using time constrained visual encounter survey technique.  A total of 34 species of snakes belonging to five families and 23 genera were recorded.  Of the total observed species, nine were identified as venomous species.  These include four species of Elapidae, four species of Viperidae, and one Colubridae.  Geographically, snakes occurred throughout the landscapes, although species composition and their geographical distribution differed notably amongst various localities.  We documented survival threats to local snakes where deliberate killing and road mortality were found to be the most common cause of death.  The increasing trend of diversity, species richness, and relative abundance of serpent fauna was noticed as the radial distance increased from urban residential areas towards less disturbed landscapes such as rural agricultural land and natural forests indicating that the habitat mosaic plays an important role in the structure and composition of the snake community.  Considering the limited information currently available on diversity and geographical distribution of the serpent fauna of the region, the present study can be considered very significant.

We report the second photographic evidence of Temminck’s Tragopan Tragopan temminckii from Bhutan.  Inhabiting warm broadleaved forest at an elevation of 2,952m, the species photo captured in a camera trap was much westward than its previous record, indicating westward range expansion of this rare and elusive bird.

A rarely recorded small carnivore, the Spotted linsang (Prionodon pardicolor), is among Asia's least studied members of the family Prionodontidae. We report the first photographic evidence of its presence from the Tashigang Forest Division of eastern Bhutan. A non-invasive camera trap survey during the nationwide tiger survey in 2014-2015 and an opportunistic wildlife monitoring exercise in 2020 photo trapped the species on two independent occasions. On the first occasion the individual was recorded at the altitude of 2,308 m a.s.l. and the later at 2,952 m a.s.l. The main threats to the species in the region are not currently well known, highlighting the importance of additional studies to ascertain its distribution and status in the Tashigang Forest Division.

The King Cobra, Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor 1836), is the longest venomous snake in the world; it is globally threatened and has been categorized as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List. Herein we describe distribution, habitats, and nesting behavior of the King Cobra in Trashigang Forest Division, Bhutan. We recorded a total of 18 King Cobras during the one-year survey period. The elevational distribution was 650–2,057 m but most sightings were at lower elevations. King Cobras did not appear to prefer or avoid any particular habitat type but most records were from areas where human disturbances were at a minimum. We monitored a nest containing 37 eggs that was actively guarded by a female. This study was the first of its kind in Trashigang Forest Division and we hope that the information obtained will help formulate appropriate conservation strategies for this globally threatened species.