BURMESE SNAKES. : 613 
narrowing more and more till eventually it is nothing more nor less than 
a drain a couple of yards wide. In this drain, which is some 300 yards long, 
we frequently see as many asthree of these snakes in an evening, often 
more, At low tide, when the water is more or less stagnant in the ditch, 
they are commonly seen lying quite still on the mud, partially or wholly 
immersed, at other times moving slowly in quest of food, searching and 
prying into every crevice and corner, as they move stealthily along the bank, 
sometimes wholly disappearing down a crab hole for a minute or more, but 
generally keeping in the drain and only wandering,so far as we have been 
able to ascertain, on to the adjacent land which is flooded at high water 
or, what is more probable, are left there when the tide recedes, Sometimes 
they practice a curious and interesting manoeuvre as follows :—Lying 
perfectly still for an interval with their length parallel to the run of the 
ditch, they cautiously make a sweeping movement with the caudal extremity 
of their body across the drain, first on one side and then on the other, thus 
driving any creatures within reach, forwards within their sight and sometimes 
within their grasp, At high water the current appears to stimulate them 
to active movement, and at this time they may be swimming vigorously or 
hiding behind some object which breaks the force of the current, where they 
will lie waiting for creatures to be brought within their grasp. As a rule, 
they move with the tide allowing themselves to be carried on, and the 
majority return on the ebb in preference to being left where the water is 
scanty or absent. Atthe last of the ebb, where the increased incline in 
the bed towards the mouth of the creek causes a rapid flow, they may 
be seen coming down frequently (a dozen or more in the course of a few 
minutes), and here with their caudal extremities they often lash themselves 
to any convenient object—an anchor rope, bamboo stake, or submerged 
branch—and from this purchase sway to and froin the current, We have 
observed them lying on branches overhanging the stream even to a height 
of three feet and more above the water, having doubtless been left there by 
the ebbing tide. They are not easily alarmed, for one can get within a yard 
or two of them without much caution. We have often jumped the ditch 
close beside them, and then placing a cane beneath them tossed them into the 
air in order that they might fall on the road hard by where they could be easily 
captured. On land, when aroused, they are extremely active, and strive to 
escape rather than menace, except when a stick is placed across the back, or 
they are grasped by anything, when, like other snakes of the most timid disposi- 
tion, they will strike and bite the offending object with great malice. In the 
process of catching them we have observed that they emita peculiar and 
unpleasant odour not dependent on the evacuation of the cloaca. We, on 
one occasion, found a mud fish in the act of being ingested, but their chief 
food in these creeks, at any rate, appears to be the walking perch which are 
extremely plentiful, and it is generally the fry that is selected 
