348 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



From the actions of captive examples the habits seem 

 to be quite arboreal; for such an existence the reptile 

 appears admirably suited in the possession of the pre- 

 hensile tail which is dexterously employed in the ani- 

 mal's rather slow progress from branch to branch or in 

 supporting it as it rests. The specimens under observa- 

 tion seemed quite gentle; they seldom offered to bite 

 when disturbed. An evidence of this snake's good na- 

 ture was illustrated in a startling fashion by a specimen 

 donated to the Zoological Park. A friend of the author, 

 engaged in the fruit business, discovered a brightly- 

 marked snake gliding about the storeroom, evidently 

 having arrived from the tropics in a bunch of bananas. 

 Picking up the serpent on a stick, he was surprised to 

 find it displayed the utmost good nature. Thus en- 

 couraged, he took the reptile home with the intention of 

 keeping it as a pet. That evening the snake was given 

 the liberty of the drawing-room table, while the gentle- 

 man's little daughter actually handled the creature as 

 its pretty colors were generally admired. It would not 

 eat, however, and a week later was brought to the writ- 

 er's office by the little girl, who carried it in a thin paste- 

 board box. The astonishment of the author may be 

 imagined when he discovered a specimen of this deadly 

 lance-head issuing from the box in leisurely fashion 

 upon the child's hand. 



The species feeds largely upon young birds, catching 

 them by a dart of the head from an ambush of tangled 

 vegetation, when the prey is held in a tenacious grip, 

 the fangs imbedded, until the poison has done its work. 



Southeastern Asia, and Malaysia, forms the habitat 

 of the remaining species of Lachesis, small tree snakes, 

 some of them bright green. They have the same pre* 



