100 JOURNAL, NATURAL HLST. SOCIETY OF SLiM. Vol. L 



21. Hypsirhina enhydris, 



A common snake in Bangkok, and with the exception of 

 Homalopsis huccata, the most plentiful of the whole family found here. 

 It may be met with in almost any of the water-ways which intersect 

 the country, usually lying quietly among the weeds, with its snout 

 projecting from the surface of the water. It is not strictly aquatic, 

 and after stormy nights, in particular, may often be seen on land. It 

 is never, however, found far from water. It is a very gentle snake, and 

 I have never yet known one attempt to bite when handled. 



It appears to subsist chiefly on fish, but Mr. Herbert informs 

 me that he once caught one which disgorged a skink (^Mabuia), a very 

 unusual meal, I should think, for this snake. 



Length. 680 mm. 



Color (in life). Above, olive-brown, olive-grey or olive-green, 

 with two or three more or less distinct light longitudinal bands. The 

 last 3 rows of costal scales are alternately lemon-yellow, pale pinkish, 

 and again j^ellow. Below, pale yellowish, with a black line along 

 each side of the ventrals, and usuallj' a thin median one, formed by a 

 series of dots. The handsome coloring of the last 3 costal rows of 

 scales is, I believe, peculiar to Siam, and, sometimes, Burma. 



Distrihntien. From India and S. China to the Malay 

 Archipelago. 



22. Hypsirhina bocourti. 



A rare snake in Bangkok, but more plentiful in the country 

 districts round about. In the fields by Ayuthia and also at Ban Hua 

 Takhe, it is not uncommon, and as the country and the canals dry up 

 with the advance of the hot weather, and its places of habitat become 

 limited, it can almost invariably be met with. 



Like H. enhydris it is not strictlj' aquatic in its habits. Its 

 temper is uncertain, and it is not a snake to handle carelessly, although 

 if lifted quietly it will usually make no attempt to bite. Those I have 

 kept fed freely upon frogs. 



This snake, for its length, has great girth, particularly in adult 

 life, while the sinister expression upon its face, together with the thick-, 

 bloated appearance of its bod}', combine to make it the most ungraceful 

 and repulsive looking snake that I know of. 



