COLUBRINAE 



619 



with a golden lustre, while the under parts are yellow or white. 

 The total length of this species amounts to 6 feet, the tail then 

 being nearly 2 feet long. These graceful Tree-Snakes live upon 

 small reptiles and birds and their eggs. When shaken out of a 

 tree or frightened off they let themselves fall down from con- 

 siderable heights, coiling body and tail like a watch-spring, 



Fig. 164. — Lepiophis liocerus. x S-. 



and alighting on the ground upon the spiral, which breaks the 

 fall. 



Coronella. — The teeth are nearly all of equal size and form 

 continuous series. The scales are smooth and have apical pits ; 

 the sub-caudals are double. The head is scarcely distinct from 

 the neck. The pupil is round. This genus, with nearly 

 twenty species, is widely distributed except in the Australian 

 region, the northern half of Asia, and South America. We can 

 mention only the two European species, one of which occurs in 

 England. 



C. austriaca s. laevis, the Smooth Snake. The scales are 

 arranged in nineteen rows. Mostly the third and fourth 



