THE COACH-WHIP SNAKE. 



'33 



harsh cries, flutter their wings noisily, and by dint of continual annoyance will often 

 drive the reptile away from the locality. It has been thought that this Serpent was in 

 the habit of killing its prey by pressure, after the fashion of the boas, but this state- 

 ment has not been satisfactorily confirmed. 



The color of this Snake is blue-black above, and ashen slate below, becoming rather 

 whiter upon the throat. In some specimens a number of spots are observed upon the 

 back of a deeper and duller hue than the general tint. In length the Black Snake 

 generally reaches from five to six feet. 



THE small, but interesting family of the Dryadidae contains a number of Serpents 

 remarkable for the slender elegance of their form, the delicate beauty of their coloring, 

 and the singular swiftness of their movements. 



COACH-WHIP SH\KE.Herpetodryas flagelliformis. 

 (Lower figure.) 



GREEN SNAKE. Cyclophls sestlvus, 



(Upper figure.) 



The well-known COACH-WHIP SNAKE of North America is an useful example of this 

 family. This remarkable reptile has not earned its popular name without good reason, 

 for the resemblance between one of these Serpents and a leather whip-thong is almost 

 incredibly close. The creature is very long in proportion to its width, the neck and 

 head are very small, the body gradually swells towards the middle and then as grad- 

 ually diminishes to the tail, which ends in a small point. The large smooth scales are 

 arranged in such a manner that they just resemble the plaited leather of a whip, and 

 the polished brown-black of the surface is exactly like that of a well-worn thong. 



The movements of this Snake are wonderfully quick, and when chasing its prey, it 

 seems to fly over the ground. The mode of attack is very remarkable. Seizing the 



