THJ'J iSNAKJ^S OF ILLXGKUK. 17*J 



37. Naia tripudians. TJie Cobra. 

 Siamese ^ IVIT ('<'/(( luio). 



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\'arious other names are also used, such as <^ [YC] f\^ ( ngu hao 



dong), -3lVnUf] (i^gu li'-^y maw), ^ IVII flflfl <%mM ( "gii Ii'io 

 dork chan), according to markings and coloration. The last named 

 term, meaning the sandal-wood tlower, but also used to designate any 

 small round mark, is applied generally to those specimens that have 

 a well-defined circular mark upon the hood. 



The name '" ngu hao", or the snake that barks, has no doubt 

 been given to it on account of the characteristic spitting or explosive 

 hiss which it makes when angered. 



The Cobra, fortunately for Bangkok residents, cannot be 

 considered a common snake, although it is by no means rare. 

 In the country round it is more plentiful, and in some localities, 

 { notably at Klong Rangsit and Pachim, and probably also at 

 many others ) is very jjlentiful. In Bangkok it may be 

 found almost anywhere, being more abundant upon the West 

 side of the river than upon the East. The many old and 

 disused buildings there harbour a considerable number of them, 

 among the foundations of which they find easy and convenient 

 hiding places. In the country districts, away from habi- 

 tations, they live upon the open grass-lands and in the paddy fields, 

 finding shelter in holes in the earth, chiefly those that have been made 

 by rats. In those places, as the country is completely under water for 

 several months in" the year, they must be flooded out of their homes, 

 and forced, for the time, to lead a semi-aquatic existence. 



It is astonishing how few Europeans in Bangkok, with the 

 exception of those who have come from India, where they have 

 been treated to displaj-s by snake charmers, have ever seen 

 a cobra alive. Under ordinary circumstances, when moving 

 about in search of food, or when lying in repose, the so-called 

 " hood " is not expanded at all, but lies as a loose fold of skin 

 on either side of the neck, adding but little to its thickness, and 

 hardly noticeable. It is only in the presence of danger, when 

 suddenly encountered and confronted, that the characteristic pose is 

 assumed, with the fore part of the body perpendicularly erect and the 



