Class 3. REPTILIA. 



Order OPHIDIA. 

 Family VIPERIDJE. 

 era berus, L. Viper or Adder. 



Don (1813) spoke of Adders as becoming rare at the time he wrote, 

 but there seems to have been no firm ground for his belief. He 

 includes, under the name Coluber prester, a black variety, or the 

 Black Viper," as seen in Glenshee, and adds : "the only one I have 

 seen." He also names another variety, Anguis erix, the Blue-bellied 

 Snake or Adder, as occurring "on the mountains, but rare." 



It is now known that the black variety is the form usually found 

 upon the Hill of Strathfinella, where the common lighter-coloured 

 form is so rare that Mr. J. Milne has only met with one specimen 

 there, and informed me of the fact. He wrote me as follows : "For 

 the first time in my life, I met with an ordinary coloured Adder, 

 killed on Strathfinella on June 1, 1905." 



These reptiles are fairly common on the hills around Fordoun, 

 and amongst the hills and valleys generally of the north-east of our 

 area. Mr. Milne considers the black variety "most repulsive look- 

 ing," but " not so abundant as the ordinary lighter-coloured Adders." 

 He obtained one of the former about two feet two inches in length. 



Amongst other localities, Don makes mention of "West Water," 

 " Winon Hill " — twelve miles to the north of Brechin — and Hills of 

 Glenrigg. Dr. Dewar speaks of it as common on Glen Queich Hill 

 (in lit, April 27, 1904), but there is scarcely any necessity to give all 

 details of its abundant distribution, as that can indeed be well 

 described in general terms thus : Of very general occurrence on 

 ground best adapted to its requirements, over the whole area, pre- 

 ferring such as affords dry and porous subsoil and loose, broken, 

 rocky surfaces, with not too high a growth of heather; fond of 

 sunny, dry birch and bracken slopes, facing south and south-west, 



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