78 



REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



The under part of the body is furnished with a single row of large 

 plates. The Rattlesnake owes its name to a remarkable peculiarity 

 in its structure ; the extremity of the tail is furnished with horny 

 cells, articulated one into the other. When the animal is irritated it 

 causes its tail to vibrate, which produces a sound like the dry husks 



Fig. 19. — Northern Rattlesnake. 



of beans which still retain their seeds being shaken by the wind, thus 

 giving warning of the proximity of this terrible enemy. The sibilant 

 rattle of these appendages is not very loud, but it may be heard ten 

 paces off. 



Rattlesnakes feed on small mammals, or upon other reptiles. 

 They are oviparous ; and, for some time after they are hatched, the 

 young are said to seek a refuge in the mouth of their mother. Wood- 

 land or prairie are selected by them, according to the species they 



