SNAKES 85 



animal, which has a series of prominent black markings 

 on the sides of the neck, looks very much larger than 

 it really is, and presenting a sort of dim resemblance 

 to the dilated hood of a Cobra, is sufficiently alarming. 

 Another Malayan species though not occurring in 

 Borneo C. radiatus, has the neck, according to Cap- 

 tain Flower, "apparently dilatable," but this observer 

 does not state whether this species sits up like a Cobra 

 when teased. 



Dryophis prasinus is the most beautiful and graceful 

 creature imaginable ; it is quite gentle, and is one of 

 the few snakes which Malays and Dayaks acknowledge 

 to be harmless, and they have little or no objection to 

 handling it. To see one of these snakes gliding 

 amongst foliage is to realize the meaning of the 

 phrase " poetry of motion." Often they may be seen 

 with the tail and part of the body twisted round a 

 branch, whilst the front third of the body is held out 

 almost straight, the head and neck slowly turning from 

 side to side ; and the sinuous grace of this posture 

 reveals the wonderful perfection of a serpent's mus- 

 cular development. The commonest variety of this 

 snake is grass-green in colour, but I have also met 

 with salmon-pink, pale brown, and speckled grey 

 forms. I do not know if these varieties are constant, 

 or if one form is capable of turning into another, as 

 in the case of Coluber oxycephalus. A nearly allied 

 species of Dryophis, D. myderizans, from India, has the 

 reputation of being rather savage, and the Tamils and 

 Singhalese apply to it names which signify that it 

 strikes at the eyes of persons and cattle. Curiously 

 enough, this idea has received support from a European 

 observer who, when handling some specimens, was 



