154 SNAKES OP CEYLON. 



a wound. Like most other snakes, however, it soon gets 

 accustomed to being handled, and will then suffer itself to be 

 withdrawn from its cage without anger, though it usually 

 struggles to elude one's grasp. Mr. F. Gleadow tells me he 

 " saw one in a climber in his verandah one night, and while 

 examining him to see whether it was a Lycodon or a Bungarus, 

 with the aid of a hurricane lamp, he let out at me like lightning 

 and scratched my nose. It was a very smart stroke indeed. 

 Xobody had touched him." Gunther says of it : " It is of 

 fierce habits, and defends itself vigorously." Mr. Millard 

 writes to me : " It is of a somewhat fierce disposition, and 

 when first caught will usually turn and bite freely." Colonel 

 Dawson, too, in a letter to me, remarks on the fierceness of 

 its nature. 



Mice not infrequently fall victims to this snake, a fact 

 which in itself speaks more eloquently than any remarks can 

 do for the intrei^id nature of such a diminutive reptile. Mice, 

 or at least individuals amongst them, are formidable anta- 

 gonists for small creatures to encounter, and I have collected 

 several interesting records showing that a single one will not 

 only defend itself against the snake or snakes into whose cage 

 it has been put as food, but wiU sometimes actually turn the 

 tables, fight, overpower, and devour the snake. 



(c) Striking Posture : From a coiled attitude it will 

 frequently strike out vehemently and without hesitation 

 at the object of its fury, and is often a difficult snake to 

 capture without being bitten. 



(d) Nocturnal or Diurnal : It exhibits very decidedly 

 nocturnal propensities. At night the woHsnake emerges from 

 its fastness, and actively pursues its quest for food. The 

 servants are apt to encounter it in the verandah when serving 

 dinner, the inmates of a house in any of its rooms, the mem- 

 sahib in her storeroom, the Sepoy in his lines, the soldier in 

 barracks, and the warder going his rounds in the jail. Mr. 

 Green notes that in captivity it sleeps all day and refuses food, 

 but becomes restless at nightfall. 



(e) Progression : It is a very active little snake that usually 

 makes a bold attempt to retain its liberty, and can move 

 rapidly. Its climbing accomplishments are very remarkable, 



