THE SNAKES 293 



hood of some cobras the design is similar to a death's- 

 head. Though not a big or bulky snake the Cobra-de- 

 Capello must be ranked among the most deadly of all 

 serpents. Its diminutive fangs inflict wounds more 

 speedily fatal than the enormously elongated venom-con- 

 ducting teeth of the big vipers — unless the bite of the lat- 

 ter type of reptiles involves the wounding of an impor- 

 tant blood vessel. 



Spectacled Cobras are the stars of a reptile collection 

 and the most vicious snakes to be seen in captivity. 

 They will remain for an hour or more in an upright po- 

 sition if steadily annoyed. Upon discovering a failure 

 to vent their anger upon the object of annoyance, they 

 will fight fiendishly among themselves. Fortunately, 

 they are immune to each other's poison, so their combats 

 terminate with little damage. Specimens from the In- 

 dian peninsula and Ceylon are typical in their markings, 

 showing on the "hood" the staring aspect of two large 

 eyes enclosed in spectacles, which strange ornamenta- 

 tion has led to the popular name. Examples from Su- 

 matra and Java exhibit pronounced variation from the 

 mainland form. One of the varieties is technically 

 known as Naja tripudians semifasciata; popularly, it 

 has been called the Masked Cobra. The figure on the 

 extended neck looks like a grotesque mask. 



When annoyed, the Cobra actually hurls itself into 

 an upright position, the neck dilating simultaneously. 

 The action is accompanied by a sharp hiss, and if a 

 moving object is within reasonable distance the snake 

 strikes immediately. The writer has never observed 

 Cobras to strike without first rearing into the character- 

 stic position with the neck spread widely — unless darting 

 for their prey. In a wild state their only warning would 

 be a sharp hiss which generally accompanies the instant 



