208 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL RI8T. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIII. 



found coiled tip asleep. It is not unusual foi' it to come into 

 habitations, and as its sole purpose is probably to hunt rats, it 

 should be encouraged as a benefactor. 



Dis^position and Habits. — Without being an aggressive snake, 

 it is certainly a plucky one that will strike, and strike viciously 

 when suddenly encountered, or driven into an uncomfortable situa- 

 tion. At such times it will erect the forebody, and strongly 

 compress the neck, forming a sort of pouch in the throat, just as 

 the common rat-snake (Zamenis mucosus) does. I have little 

 doubt that it emits the same warning snoring sound, though I have 

 not actually heard this. It is very active, and difficult to capture 

 alive usually menacing with such determination that its would-be 

 captor hesitates to seize it, and finds by his hesitation his chance has 

 gone. It is a remarkable fact that of all the fifty odd specimens 

 I have had, one only was less than 3^ feet. It would seem that 

 the young are specially active, and able to evade danger. 



Food. — It seems to feed exclusively on mammals, and especially 

 rats. I have on two occasions found a large rat in the stomach, 

 and once four blind and callous offspring almost certainly belong- 

 ing to a rat. At other times I have found mammalian hair in 

 the stomach or intes'tine, that suggested a murine victim. 



The sexes. — My notes leave much to be desired in this direction. 

 Of 25 sexed in Assam 18 proved to be females. As regards size my 

 notes make it appear that the sexes grow to the same length. 

 There seems no special difierence in the length of the tail in the sexes, 

 unlike what is usual in other species. The anal glands secrete an 

 ochraceous coloured matter. 



Breeding. — I have had seven gravid females in the months of April,. 

 May, June and July. On the 27th April one year in Assam, 

 two were seen playing with one another (flirting), and killed. The 

 female was found to be in an advanced stage of gestation, showing as 

 I have frequently remarked before with other snakes, that conjugal 

 attachment continues for some time after the initial act of matins, 

 ihe species is not nearly so prolific as many snakes. I never found 

 more than twelve eggs developing in the abdomen, and on one 

 occasion there were only five. Cantor however records one with 

 twenty-three eggs. The largest eggs I measured were 2 Jg inches 

 long. 



Growth. — Having had so few small specimens I am unable to 

 estimate the annual growth. 



Parasites. — In one specimen killed in water I found two leeches 

 in the mouth. I have frequently found in the abdomen small 

 white parasites, which were pronounced larval forms of a tapeworm 

 of the genus Pterocercus by Professor Von Linstow. 

 ^ Distribution. — Bengal, Eastern Himalayas, Assam, Burma, Siam,. 

 Cochin-China, South China, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Java. 



