152 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
Boomslangs are timid creatures, and will on the slightest 
alarm make off into the dense bush. They are fond of descending 
to the ground and sunning themselves on some dry exposed bank 
or patch of ground. The variegated variety of Boomslang, when 
alarmed, instantly glides up a tree or into the tangled bush. On 
the contrary, the brown variety usually has a hole in a bank, or 
a crevice amongst rocks, a pile of dead brushwood, or some 
such shelter into which to retire. 
One day I was riding over the veld, when a Boomslang of the 
yellowish-green and black variety darted across my path and 
took shelter in a small thorn tree about five feet in height, 
sparsely covered with narrow, feather-like leaves. I could see 
through the small tree quite easily, for it was only about three or 
four feet in diameter. J walked round and round the bush, and 
examined it up and down for some minutes without seeing a 
trace of the snake. Then, starting at the bottom, I searched 
every twig systematically with my eyes, and followed each 
branch to its end. Eventually, half-way up the tree, I saw the 
snake. Its body was contorted and twisted at exactly the 
angles at which the branches and twigs jutted out. The yellow- 
green of the skin blended perfectly with the leaves, the effect 
being considerably heightened by its black, uneven cross 
markings. Approaching within two feet, I eyed it for a time, 
and not once during that time did it make the slightest move- 
ment. When I attempted to capture it by putting a bit of 
string with a noose at the end round its neck, it got angry, and 
sought to intimidate me by puffing out the throat, making its 
head look twice or more its natural size. 
After being captured and kept for some hours in a dark bag, 
most Boomslangs will permit themselves to be freely handled 
without showing any disposition to bite. However, if one should 
suddenly touch your face or bare hand or arm with its nose, it 
instantly bites, and holds on till you forcibly remove it. If 
handled carefully and gently, they will rarely bite. 
The sex of a Boomslang cannot be determined by the colour 
with any degree of certainty. I used to think that the female of 
the yellowish-green variety was not so yellowish as the male, 
but recently I have examined a large series of them, and find 
them all to be males. All the chocolate coloured ones so far 
examined have been females. 
