Lampropeltis nigra, commonly known as the black kingsnake, is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake indigenous to the United States.

It has a black body that is interspersed with widely spaced yellow or cream-colored speckles, larger and more numerous along the sides.

[2][4] The black kingsnake is found in the southeastern quarter of the United States, ranging from southern Illinois to Ohio, then down along the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and the Alabama River watershed to the northern Gulf Coast in south Alabama and along the coast to the Mississippi River in Louisiana.

[3][4] Black kingsnakes occupy a wide variety of habitats and are one of the most frequently encountered species by humans in some states.

Preferred habitats include abandoned farmsteads, debris piles, edges of floodplains, and thick brush around streams and swamps.