178 JOURNAL, NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY OF SIAM Vol. I. 
it. Perhaps like the ostrich of fable, with its head concealed, it 
thinks itself entirely hidden from view. If provoked with a stick it 
will give a convulsive jerk or two, and hide its head again beneath 
some other part of the body. If left undisturbed, it will remain in 
this position for a long time. The photograph was taken the day 
after the snake had been caught, and although it gives no idea of the 
brilliant contrasts in colouring, shows very clearly the strong verte- 
bral prominence, and the blunt, enlarged ending to the tail which is 
characteristic of this snake. 
The Banded Krait feeds almost entirely upon other snakes. 
Length. This snake grows to a great size in Bangkok. I 
have seen seven specimens over. 6 feet in length. One of the largest 
ever recorded was mentioned previously in this Jowrnal (No. 1, Vol. I, 
p. 58), and I have since seen another almost as long. It was killed at 
Klong Rangsit and measured 1955 mm. in length. 
Poison. No authentic case of a bite from this snake in man 
has yet been recorded, but the poison appears from experimental 
evidence to be considerably less toxic than Cobra venom, and is 
possibly not fatal to human beings. 
Color. The coloration of the Banded Krait is so distinctive 
that it is quite impossible to mistake it for any other snake in 
Bangkok. It is commonly described as being marked with alternate 
broad bands of black and yellow, which completely encircle the body. 
- In the majority of Bangkok specimens, however, except in very large 
ones, this yellow color is buff or dirty buff above, pale yellow below, 
the two shades meeting with a distinct line of demarcation at the 
costo-ventral junction. These yellow bands number from 17 to 23 on the 
body and from 3 to 4.on the tail, Many Siamese specimens have in 
addition a variable patch of black upon the belly in some of the 
ventral bands. Wall mentions this as occurring in a specimen which 
he examined in Hongkong, but it does not appear to occur elsewhere. 
There is a black mark upon the top of the head, beginning between the 
eyes and widening and extending backwards into a saddle-shaped 
mark upon the neck. The blunt and enlarged tip to the tail which is 
characteristic of this snake in adult life, I have not found in the 
young. The whole snake has a fine polished appearance. 
Distribution. India, Burma, and South China to the Malay 
Archipelago, 
