608 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



long with a bright canary gorget. Specimens with and without, 

 this adornment are to be met with of all ages and throughout the 

 whole year, and I had vermilion specimens in Cannanore in the 

 months of November and December. 



I cannot say whether vermilion ^ ^ mate with vermilion £ 5 , 

 or whether the two varieties interbreed. It is very remarkable 

 if as appears to be the case these vermilion specimens are con- 

 fined to our coasts. I have noted in my article on T. inscator 

 in this series that similarly ornamented specimens I had only 

 known from the coast, and I may here mention that in Can- 

 nanore I once got a specimen of the Common Indian Toad 

 (Bufo melanosticttts) with flaming red blotches instead of the usual 

 black spots. I did not recognise the species, but sent the specimen 

 to the British Museum where Mr. Boulenger identified it. 



Identification. — In the matter of identification it is as well to 

 remark that the buff-striped keelback is one of the very common- 

 est if not actually the commonest snake to be met with in the 

 Plains of India, Burmah and Ceylon. It is almost certain to be 

 one of the first dozen snakes the novice beginning to collect these 

 reptiles will encounter and it is more than probable it will be included 

 in the first half dozen. The two dorsal buff stripes are almost 

 characteristic of the species and they are always well defined, and 

 conspicuous. Longitudinal striping it may be remarked is unusual 

 among our Indian Snakes and when it occurs, it is usually a dark 

 stripe that occurs in the position occupied by the buff stripes in 

 this species. Among exception with which stolatus might be 

 confused must be mentioned parallelus, and modestus, of the same 

 o-enus, and Psmnmopliis condanarus. In parallelus and modestus the 

 light stripes are ill-defined, and far less conspicuous and both species 

 are found only in Hills, the former in the Eastern Himalayas, Assam 

 and Burmah Hills, and the latter in the Assam Hills. In parallelus 

 the ventrals are more numerous, and in modestus the subcaudals 

 more numerous than in stolatus. The rows of scales would at once 

 distinguish Psammophis, being 17 anteriorly and 13 behind. 



As colour, and markings are at least uncertain guides in diagnosis, 

 one should rely on scale characters and the following combination 

 taken in the order herein placed will prove the readiest means I can 



