THE COMMON INDIAN SNAKES. 259 



the hand that is holding it as almost all other snakes would do at 

 once." I fully agree with all Mr. Phipson says on this subject, 

 and consider this strange trait argues a very great lack of intelli- 

 gence. 



The cobra seems to show a decided tendency to a social life. 

 Many writers have remarked upon its habit of living in couples, 

 and this is specially true during the breeding season. It appears 

 however to seek society apart from sexual impulses for on one 

 occasion in Rangoon two were brought to me found coiled together 

 beneath a stack of wood, and both proved to be females. On 

 another occasion, also in Rangoon, a Burman dug out a hole where 

 he had seen a snake make good its escape. The result was the 

 discovery of three cobras. Two of these were males, and one a 

 female which showed ovarian follicles obviously fertilised and 

 enlarged. This leads one to ask the question does the cobra on 

 occasion practice polyandry ? Mr. Fitzgerald once told me that he 

 saw three large snakes go into a hole in his compound within a 

 few minutes. He had possessed himself of his gun as speedily as 

 possible, and shot the third snake before it had quite disappeared, 

 and this proved to be a cobra. He assumed the others to have been 

 of the same species but unfortunately did not verify his suspicions. 



The cobra is frequently abroad during the day. I have several 

 times met one when bird nesting, shooting or out after butterflies. 

 Many of these were obviously not roused from a siesta, but were 

 roaming about I suppose in search of food or drink. In populated 

 areas it is perhaps more frequently encountered at night. Mr. 

 Hampton tells me his captive specimens did not usually show them- 

 selves until mid-day, or the early afternoon, and remained out till 

 about 10 p.m. 



Like other snakes it suffers from thirst, specially in the hot 

 weather, and I daresay that many of its intrusions into bath-rooms 

 and its lodgment in catch-pits and wells may be accounted for in 

 this manner. I saw one in the possession of a snakeman in Can- 

 nanore that dipped its head into a tin of water presented to it, and 

 drank greedily, each gulp being plainly visible in the throat. 



(To be continued.} 



