VIPER OR ADDER. 155 



broken up into oval spots ; and the characteristic pair of dark 

 bars on the head may form either a A or an X- The broad 

 shields which cover the lower surface may be grey, brown, 

 bluish, or black, or bluish with triangular spots of black, some- 

 times with white dots along the margins. Below the end of the 

 tail the colour is yellow or orange. Specimens have been 

 recorded almost entirely of a rich black, the excepted portion 

 being the whitish underside of the head and throat. 



The usual haunts of the Viper are sandy heaths, dry moors, 

 the sunny slopes of hills and hedge-banks, bramble clumps, 

 nettle beds, heaps of stones and sunny places in woods ; but 

 we have also found it in heathy and grassy places that were 

 distinctly and permanently wet. For food they appear to prefer 

 small mammals such as mice, shrews and voles, young weasels ; 

 but also take birds, lizards, slow-worms, frogs, newts, and large 

 slugs. The young subsist for a time on insects and worms. 



The Viper retires in autumn to a hollow under dry moss 

 among the heather, under faggot stacks or into the discarded 

 and leaf-covered ground nests of birds. They reappear about 

 April, and may then be seen coiled on a sunny bank, apparently 

 more concerned to absorb heat than to find food. They pair at 

 this season, and the young (varying from five to twenty) are 

 born in August or September. In this species, again, the eggs 

 are retained until fully developed, and when the young see the 

 light they are coiled up tightly in a thin, transparent membrane, 

 which usually breaks during the process of birth. They measure 

 from six to eight inches, and are at once independent. 



The hoary old legend about the mother Viper opening her 

 jaws to afford sanctuary to her young in time of danger has 

 probably arisen from some occasional acts of cannibalism. It 

 presupposes what is not true of any of our reptiles that the 

 young remain with their parent. They all begin life equipped 

 for independence, and act accordingly. 



The Viper is not so amenable to a life of captivity as our 



