196 



OPHIDIA. — COLUBRID^. 



greenish hue above, with numerous black spots, 

 placed in alternate rows ; the under parts are pale 

 yellow, chequered w^ith black, or sometimes 

 bluish lead-colour ; a broad yellow collar passes 

 behind the head, followed by two patches of black. 

 During the summer season, the Ringed Snake 

 is rather common in rural districts, concealing 

 itself among the brushwood of coppices, the 

 herbage of ditches and hedges, gliding beneath 

 the shelter of the dense heath, or basking in the 







RINGED SNAKE. 



sun on some exposed bank, or on the short turf 

 by the road-side. Late in the autumn, it retires 

 into winter quarters, in some situation usually 

 selected for warmth ; such as beneath the roots of 



