336 COMMON REFTILES OF AN INDIAN GARDEN 



It is of considerable importance to the snake to 

 secure his prey in a place affording ready shelter, 

 for when the capture has been effected in an 

 exposed site, the ensuing meal is apt to be un- 

 pleasantly interrupted by the attentions of crows 

 and other birds, who gladly avail themselves of 

 the opportunity for persecution afforded by the 

 helplessness attending its progress. 



Tropidonotus piscator is the common pond- 

 snake, and is readily recognised by the beautifully 

 tessellated pattern formed by its deep brown and 

 tawny yellow scales. They are very bold and 

 aggressive creatures, and are usually as ready to 

 resent and punish any molestation as a bad-tempered 

 dog is. Their wonderful powers of swimming and 

 diving render them very expert fishers, and the 

 havoc that they play in a pond is often very great. 

 When they have secured a fish of any considerable 

 size, they usually make straight for the bank in 

 order to obtain sufficient support during the toils 

 of swallowing. I once found them of great use 

 when I was teaching a friend to swim. The lessons 

 were conducted in a pond abounding in Tropidonoti, 

 and, when driven into close quarters with my 

 pupil, they acted as a most efficient stimulus to 

 energetic attempts at progress through the water. 



Dhamins, or rat- snakes, as they are ordinarily 

 termed by Anglo -Indians, Zamenis mucosus, may 

 often be found in ponds, but are by no means 



