■iuo 



VEKTEBRATA. 



Tlu" J/, phti/rhliios, also .-ailed J/»;/-Snakc, is thirty in.-lics lonjr ; color iron-gray or brownish- , 

 v.Hmw; lives ill moist plai-es, aii<l fif<ls on toads, insects, an<l small rejitiles ; found in New 

 Hampshire, Massachusetts and the Western States. It is sometimes called Deaf Adder and 

 Jiuckirhtat- Virc. 



:> 



THE COMMON RING-SNAKE OF EUKOPE. 



COLUBERS. 



Genus COLUBER : Coluber. — This includes a great number of non-venomous species. The 

 Common S^fAKE of Europe, C. natrix, sometimes called Rinyed Snake — the Couleuvre of the French 

 — frequents woods, bogs, and other sheltered situations in tlie vicinity of water. It is a hand- 

 some species, three feet long, the female, as in all ophidians, being longer than the male ; above 

 it is of a pale olive-color, spotted with black on the sides ; beneath whitish. It preys on insects, 

 »vorms, small birds, mice, and frogs, the latter constituting its chief sustenance. In pursuit of 

 these it often takes to the water. It deposits its eggs in warm, moist situations, where they 

 are often found attached together in the form of a necklace. When excited it emits an 

 intolerable odor. This, as well as other serpents, changes its skin once, and sometimes three 

 or four times, a year. It is easily tamed, and can be taught to eat from the hand of one Avlio 

 takes care of it. It is common in most parts of Europe. 



There are several other species of Coluber in Europe : the largest is the C. elaphis, found in Italy, 

 the south of France, &c. ; it is six feet long, and is supposed by Cuvier to be the Boa of Pliny. 



The Black Snake, C. constrictor, is one of the most remarkable of our American non-venom- 

 ous serpents, and is common from Canada to Mexico. It is of rather a slender form, shining black 

 above, and slate-color beneath ; medium length four feet, sometimes as much as six feet. It feeds 

 on frogs, toads, birds, and small quadrupeds. It is a bold, active, wild, and untamable animal. 

 It climbs trees with facility in search of eggs and young birds. Audubon gives a description 

 of a scene of this kind which he witnessed, in which a black snake attacked a nest of the brown 

 thrush, but was vigorously repulsed by the parents, assisted by some of their feathered kindred. 

 Its haunts are in dry, bushy woods ; it generally retreats from man, but sometimes will make 



