26 VENOMS 



generally -with an undulating or zigzag band along the vertebral 

 column, and a series of lateral spots. A black spot shaped like 

 a V, an X, or a circumflex accent, on the head. The tip of the tail 

 is yellow or reddish. Some specimens are entirely black. 



Total length from 350 to 700 millimetres ; tail 75 to 90'. 



Habitat : Northern Europe, and especially the mountains of 

 Central Europe ; irregularly distributed in Southern Europe ; 

 Northern Spain and Portugal, Northern Italy, Bosnia, Caucasus. 



This viper, which is very common io France, ranges as far as 

 the Scandinavian Peninsula to about the 65th parallel of North 

 Latitude. It is sometimes met with aniong the mountains at an 

 altitude of about 6,500 feet (2,000 metres). It is found on heaths, in 

 grass-lands, vineyards, and forests. Certain parts of the sandy 

 moors of North Germany are literally infested with it. It abounds 

 in the Jura, Isere, Ardeche, Auvergne, Brittany, Vendee, and the 

 Forest of Fontainebleau. 



It seeks its prey by night, and feeds on voles, small birds, frogs, 

 lizards, and small fish. During the summer it shows a preference 

 for moist places, often even remaining in the water, in which it 

 swims with ease. 



Light and fire attract it. It does not climb trees, but is 

 frequently found coiled up on boughs of dead wood scattered on 

 the ground. 



When on the defensive, and preparing to bite, it throws its 

 head back, and makes a sudden dart of from a foot to sixteen inches. 

 If irritated it makes a sort of hissing noise. 



To pass the winter it retires into the crevices of rocks or into 

 old tree-trunks, where it entwines itself closely with a number of 

 its congeners. In this way ten or fifteen vipers are frequently 

 found together in the same hole. 



In April, the whole company awakes, and copulation then takes 

 place. The eggs are laid in August and September, and the young 

 immediately crawl out of the shell, already prepared to bite, and 



