SNAKES 



179 



the holes tenanted hy mice and jerboas ; specimens at 

 our gardens, however, were also fond of lizards. 



When excited this snake moves the coils of the body 

 against one another and makes loud, rustling sounds, which 

 are produced by the friction of the serrated lateral keels. 



Horned Vipers with four " horns " are frequently 

 offered for sale by the native snake-catchers, but the extra 

 pair are merely the spines of hedgehogs which have been 

 inserted through the unfortunate creature's head, behind 

 the eye. The poison of this viper is destructive to small 

 mammals, and even to birds as large as a pelican, but is 

 not generally deadly to man. 



Echis, likewise represented by two small species, E. 

 carinatus, of Africa north of the Equator, and of Southern 

 Asia, and E. coloratus, of Egypt, Palestine, and Arabia, 

 differs from Cerastes in a narrower head and in the scales 

 of the under-surface of the tail being disposed singly, and 

 not in a double series. 



The Carpet Snake, E. carhiatus^ by far the best known 

 species, is not confined to arid districts, but is also found 

 in grassy localities, usually under stones and logs. The 

 coloration is pale buff, or greyish above, with one or more 

 series of whitish, dark-edged spots, the outer usually 

 forming eye-spots ; a dark, Y-shaped marking is often 

 present on the head. This snake, which averages two feet 

 in length, is very active and highly venomous, accounting, 

 especially in India, for many deaths ; it is semi-nocturnal 

 in its habits, and feeds on insects as well as small mammals. 

 Before attacking, which it does by throwing itself forward 

 by a bound for a distance of over a foot, it coils up, produc- 

 ing the rustling sounds in a similar manner to Cerastes. 



