Head‐body temperature differences of up to 5.7° and 6.1° C were observed during solar and radiant heating, respectively. Head temperature was more precisely regulated than body temperature and within preferred limits head temperature was significantly lower than body temperature. Higher temperatures were tolerated by the body than the head. Preferred temperatures for both the head and body are higher in the taipan than in other ophidians which have been reported upon, and approximate those temperatures reported for the voluntary maxima in other sna