138 



THE BOIGA. 



organized for the secretion of poison. The fangs are inclosed in a soft, pulpy sheath, the 

 inner surface of which is commonly coated with a thin, glairy secretion. This secretion pos- 

 sibly may have something acrid and irritating in its quality, which may, when it enters a 

 wound, occasion pain and swelling, but nothing of greater importance. 



"The Boomslange is generally found on trees, to which it resorts for the purpose of 

 catching birds, upon which it delights to feed. The presence of a specimen in a tree is gener- 

 ally soon discovered by the birds of the neighborhood, who collect around it, and fly to and 

 fro, uttering the most piercing cries, until some one, more terror-struck than the rest, actually 

 scans its lips, and, almost without resistance, becomes a meal for its enemy. During such a 



v 



BOOMSLANGE. Bucephalut capentie. 



proceeding, the Snake is generally observed with its head raised about ten or twelve inches 

 above the branch, round which its body and tail are entwined, with its mouth open and its 

 neck inflated as if anxiously endeavoring to increase the terror which, it would almost appear 

 it was aware, would sooner or later bring within its grasp some one of the feathered group. 

 "Whatever may be said in ridicule of fascination, it is nevertheless true, that birds, and 

 even quadrupeds also, are, under certain circumstances, unable to retire from the presence of 

 certain of their enemies ; and what is even more extraordinary, unable to resist the propen- 

 sity to advance from a situation of actual safety into one of the most imminent danger. This 

 I have often seen exemplified in the case of birds and Snakes ; and I have heard of instances 

 equally curious, in which antelopes and other quadrupeds have been so bewildered by the 

 sudden appearance of crocodiles, and by the grimaces and contortions they practised, as to 

 be unable to fly or even move from the spot towards which they were approaching to seize 

 them." 



THE beautiful BOIGA, sometimes called the AH^ETULLA, also belongs to the family of 

 Tree-Serpents. This pretty and graceful creature inhabits Borneo, and, on account of the 

 extreme gentleness of its disposition and the ease with which it is tamed the children are in 

 the habit of considering it as a kind of living toy, and allow it to twine around their bodies, 

 or carry it about in their little hands, without the least alarm. It is a most active Serpent, 



