BLACK AND GREEN MAMBAS. 197 
Their habits vary according to the nature of the country. 
In those parts of Natal, Zululand, and Transvaal which are 
covered with forests, and where there is an abundance of food, 
the Black Mamba rarely leaves the precincts of his leafy home, 
except for an occasional terrestrial hunting excursion. In 
sparsely-wooded districts, or where the bush grows in isolated 
clumps, the Black Mamba scours the neighbourhood for food. 
It is at these times he is usually observed, for in his retreat 
amongst the branches of thick-foliaged trees, it requires a keen 
and practised eye to detect him. In these situations his hiding- 
place has frequently been revealed to me by the excited chattering 
of forest birds, intent upon scolding and intimidating him, with 
a view of getting him to remove his dangerous person from the 
neighbourhood of their nests. It has not yet been satisfactorily 
ascertained what shade of colour the young of the green variety 
of Mamba produces. If the black and the green varieties pair 
indiscriminately, then it is reasonable to assume the young would 
vary in colouration, some being dark and others green. However, 
it has not, to my knowledge, been conclusively shown that the 
Black Mamba pairs with the Green Mamba. 
Mr. W. E. Jones, who collects Mamba venom for research 
purposes, has frequently seen young Black Mambas from eighteen 
inches to two feet in length. He says they are innocent, in- 
offensive little creatures, with a fine ‘‘ bloom ”’ on their tender 
jet black skins. At this time of life they do not seem to realize 
danger, at least, from the human animal, for they permit one to 
inspect them closely while they lie along a branch intently alert. 
Doubtless they are prompted by the instinct which impels them 
to lie immovable with the object of escaping detection. 
A young Black Mamba, eighteen inches long, possesses venom 
sufficiently strong to kill a large rat in an hour. 
For the first year they grow rapidly, attaining a length of 
close upon six feet. 
Mr. Jones informs me he has killed Mambas containing eggs 
in all stages of growth, from the size of a pin’s head to an inch 
anda halfin length. The latter size do not number more than a 
dozen or fourteen. The eggs at this stage show on one side a 
black patch which is the embryo in its first stage of feetal 
development. 
Mr. Jones has counted over sixty eggs, large and small, in a 
