SNAKES 141 



and a horse-shoe shaped band, from which the snake 

 receives its popular name, is situated on the nape ; the 

 under-surfaces are yellowish or red, with or without black 

 spots. 



Dahl's Snake, Xamenis dahlii, a very slender snake, 

 which seldom exceeds three feet in length, occurs in Europe 

 east of the Adriatic ; it also inhabits Asia Minor, North- 

 Western Persia, and Syria. It is olive in colour, with a few 

 large black, white or yellow-edged spots on the sides, the 

 anterior pair of which are sometimes confluent and thus 

 form a nuchal collar. Dahl's Snake is an exceedingly 

 delicate creature, and cannot be kept under captive con- 

 ditions for more than a few months, refusing to feed on 

 the small lizards which, in its natural environment, con- 

 stitute its principal article of food. It inhabits very dry 

 localities, its dislike for water, in fact, being so great that 

 it will not drink out of a bowl, but quenches its thirst by 

 licking the dew-drops from the branches. According to 

 Werner, the eggs number three only. 



The Diadem Snake, Zamenis diadevia, which is fre- 

 quently seen in menageries and is often in the possession 

 of the Indian and Egyptian snake charmers, ranges from 

 North Africa to North-Western India. It is normally 

 pale buff or sometimes flesh-coloured above, with brown 

 or reddish blotches, of which the median ones form, as 

 a rule, a series of rhombs ; the lower parts are uniform 

 white. The variety atriceps, of Northern India, is 

 peculiar in having the head entirely black and the body 

 irregularly spotted with black. This beautiful snake is 

 unfortunately rather deHcate, and does not stand a 

 long period of captivity, which is all the more to be 



