T32 REPTILES AND BATRACHIANS 



hood of water, the abandoned galleries of moles being 

 frequently appropriated for the purpose. 



The Indian River Snake, T. piscator, is the commonest 

 snake of the East, being found in almost every pool and 

 stream in India, Burma, Southern China, and the Malay- 

 Peninsula and Archipelago. When freshly captured it 

 is very fierce ; sitting up, it raises its head a foot or so 

 from the ground, and inflates and laterally expands the 

 skin of the neck, as do the cobras. In colour it is yellow or 

 very pale olive above, with numerous black blotches or 

 stripes ; two oblique streaks are situated, one below and 

 one above the eye. The lower parts, in specimens from 

 India and Burma, are uniform yellowish, while, in those 

 from Southern China and the Malay, the ventral shields 

 are edged with black. 



The Indian River Snake, attaining a length of just over 

 four feet, is very aquatic, seldom leaving the water. In 

 captivity it will live for long periods, feeding greedily on 

 fish and frogs, five specimens in the Zoological Gardens 

 having during the past year devoured in all over 800 of 

 the latter. 



The Indian Striped Snake, T. stolatus, a small species, 

 which abounds all over India and Ceylon, and extends 

 from Burma and China to the Malay Peninsula, is grey or 

 brown above, with dark cross-bars, which are intersected 

 by two yellow longitudinal bands. 



The habits of this snake much resemble those of our 

 Grass Snake, for, like the latter, it is not so fond of water 

 as most other species of the genus ; it is also a very gentle 

 creature, seldom attempting to bite. The eggs, which 

 number about a dozen to a clutch, and are frequently 



