176 JOURNAL, NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY OF SIAM Vol. I. 
of one sent me last year, I found the head and fore part of the body of 
a young tree-snake (Dendrophis pictus). Even the great ‘“ tuk-kaa ” 
(Gecko verticillatus) is not secure against this rapacious creature, and I 
know of several occasions on which it has been tackled. It is not 
always that the snake comes out of these combats unharmed, and 
considering the tremendous bite which this lizard can give, it is no¢ 
surprising. In one encounter at least that I know of, the gecko had 
got a firm hold immediately behind the head of its opponent, and 
although the snake ultimately proved the victor, it was so badly 
damaged as to he only just able to crawl away, leaving its victim 
uneaten. 
T have seen this snake, also, catch a full grown mouse, crush 
it to death in its coils, and swallow it, the whole operation being 
accomplished in mid-air, the snake suspended by its tail only from a 
small branch. 
Flower calls it the fiercest snake he has ever met, and says that 
individuals which he tried to keep in captivity showed no signs of 
becoming tamer, and were also an annoyance to other inmates of the 
cage. | have not found this so. Those I have kept became moderately 
tame, and soon allowed themselves to be handled. 
Length. 1400 mm. 
Color. Very variable, but only one form (var. D. Blgr. Cat. 
Snakes) is found in Bangkok, and as far.as [ am aware, throughout the 
whole of Siam. It is as follows :—Above pale green, each scale edged 
with black and with a median black line, giving the whole the ap- 
pearance of fine longitudinal lines drawn down the body, with finer 
diagonal cross-lines. Below, a paler green, with a series of black dots 
at the lateral keel. Subcaudals edged with dark grey. Head yellowish, 
extensively marked with black, which takes the form of transverse 
bars. 
‘In the young, the black lines mentioned above, coalesce and 
form a regular series of dorsal cross-bars. In some specimens this is 
so marked that the snake appears to be black, with narrow green 
cross-bars. - 
Distribution. India, Ceylon, Burma and Southern China to the 
Malay Archipelago, 
Ee 
