SCHAAP-STICKER. Psammophylax rhombe&tui 



As an example of the first family of these Serpents, we may take the common BEOWN 

 SNAKE of America (Conocepkalvj stridtus}. 



This reptile is quite harmless, and is plentiful in many portions of America, having 

 rather a wide range of locality. Although common it is not conspicuous, for its small 

 dimensions, its sombre hue, and its retiring habits serve to conceal it from the general 

 gaze. It is usually found hiding under the bark of trees, in stone heaps, or among tho 

 crevices of rocky ground, choosing those localities because it feeds principally on insect 

 prey, and can find abundance of food in such places. Its colour is greyish brown above 

 and white below. It is a small species, rarely reaching eleven inches in length. 



THE large family of the Coronellidse contains many curious Serpents, among which 

 may be mentioned the well-known SCHAAP-STICKER of Southern Africa. 



This Snake has a rather wide range of country, being spread over nearly the whole of 

 Southern Africa, and very common at the Cape of Good Hope. It is a handsome little 

 reptile, prettily marked, and brisk and lively in its movements, as is required for the 

 purpose of catching the agile prey on which it feeds. The Schaap-sticker lives mostly on 

 insects and small lizards, and darts upon them with great swiftness of movement. It is 

 generally found crawling among heaps of dead leaves, or trailing its variegated form over 

 grassy banks, where it finds the prey on which it subsists. 



The colour of this Serpent is extremely variable, and decidedly different in the old 

 and young. In the young specimen, the spots that ornament the back are darker than in 

 the adult, and there is generally a little wash of green over the surface. The general 

 colour of this Snake is brown, with a greyish or golden tint according to the individual. 

 Along the back run several rows, usually three or four in number, of dusky spots, gene- 

 rally of a somewhat oval or rhombic form, and edged with deep black. In one specimen 

 in the British Museum, the spots have coalesced so as to form three continuous bands 

 running along the body. The length of the Schaap-sticker is about two feet. 



ANOTHER species belonging to this family (Coronella Austriaca) has been once or 

 twice captured in England, but its occurrence is extremely rare. In two cases where this 



