THE SNAKES OF DANGKOK. 179 
37. Naiatripudians. The Cobra. 
Siamese 4 Tal (nyu hac). 
i 
0 
Various other names are also used, such as 4 (WAY (ngu hao 
q 
' ‘ ‘ ew a 
dong), QIWNO (ngu hao maw), 4 WWIAAN Annu (ngu hao 
Vv v 
dork chan), according to markings and coloration. The last named 
term, meaning the sandal-wood flower, but also used to designate any 
small round mark, is applied generally to those specimens that have 
a well-defined circular mark upon the hood. 
The name ‘ngu hao”, or the snake that barks, has no doubt 
been given to it on account of the characteristic spitting or explosive 
hiss which it makes when angered. 
The Cobra, fortunately for Bangkok residents, cannot be 
considered a common snake, although it is by mo means rare. 
In the country round it is more plentiful, and in some localities, 
(notably at Klong Rangsit and Pachim, and probably also at 
many others) is very plentiful. In Bangkok it may be 
found almost anywhere, being more abundant upon the West 
side of the river than upon the East. The many old and 
disused buildings there harbour a considerable number of them, 
among the foundations of which they find easy and convenient 
hiding places. In the country districts, away from habi- 
tations, they live upon the open grass-lands and in the paddy fields, 
finding shelter in holes in the earth, chiefly those that have been made 
by rats. In those places, as the country is completely under water for 
several months in the year, they must be flooded out of their homes, 
and forced, for the time, to lead a semi-aquatic existence. 
It is astonishing how few Huropeans in Bangkok, with the 
exception of those who have come from India, where they have 
been treated to displays by snake charmers, have ever seen 
a cobra alive. Under ordinary circumstances, when moving 
about in search of food, or when lying in repose, the so-called 
“hood” is not expanded at all, but lies as a loose fold of skin 
on either side of the neck, adding but little to its thickness, and 
hardly noticeable. It is only in the presence of danger, when 
suddenly encountered and confronted, that the characteristic pose is 
assumed, with the fore part of the body perpendicularly erect and the 
