SMOOTH SNAKE 



pet, provided that, when not in hibernation, a sufficient 

 food-supply can be secured to keep it going. 



Smooth Sndike.—Coronella austriaca (Fig. 3). Belongs 

 to the same Family as the last-named species, but is 

 much rarer in Britain, although it occurs elsewhere over 

 the greater part of Europe. Although it sometimes 

 haunts damp situations, it appears more fond of dry 

 retreats, where it can secure during the Spring, Summer 

 and Autumn an abundance of sunshine, in which it 

 appears to revel. It produces about a dozen eggs during 

 August, or early in September, and these are advanced 



Skull of 

 -Srnoorh Snake. 



Smoolli Snake. hg d 



in incubation to such an extent that the young soon after- 

 wards make their exit from their shelly covering. One 

 writer distinctly states that the young are produced alive. 

 The food appears to consist of other reptiles and mice. 

 The body colour may be brown, brownish-yellow, 

 reddish-brown, or rusty, and there is a double array of 



irregular dark spots on the back. The eyes are small, 



15 



