C O L 
COL 
COL 
394 - 
speck; while the body is beautifully marked 
from head to tail by numerous -transverse 
rows of round red spots; the tail is mode- 
rately slender, tapering to a point, afid seem- 
ingly measuring about a fifth of the whole 
length. This snake is, according to Seba, 
a native of Arabia. The appearance of the 
head seems strongly to indicate a poisonous, 
species. 
7. The coluber natrix, or ringed snake 
(See Plate Nat. Hist. fig. 137.) appears to be 
pretty generally diffused through* all parts of 
Europe, and is common in our own island, 
frequenting woods, moist hedges, and shady 
places; in colour it occasionally varies, but 
is generally either of a blueish grey or pale 
olive on the upper parts, marked along the 
sides-, by a row of small transverse black 
streaks, alternating with some smaller spots 
of tiie same colour; and on each side the 
neck is a black and somewhat semilunar 
patch, the horns or tips pointing forward : 
this is bounded in front by a second patch of 
a pale yellow or whitish colour, thus forming 
a kind of collar on each side the neck. 
This animal is of an innoxious nature, and 
may be tamed to a considerable degree. Mr. 
White, in his History of Selborne, has the 
following remark on this subject : “ I knew 
a gentleman who kept a tame snake, which 
was in its person as sweet as any animal ; 
but as soon as a stranger, or a dog or cat, 
came in, it fell to hissing, and filled the room 
with such nauseous effluvia as rendered it 
hardly supportable.” The snake chiefly lives 
by preying on frogs, mice, small birds, in- 
sects, worms, &c. It is known to frequent 
the water occasionally, for the sake of frogs, 
& c. and is capable of swimming, though not 
with any great degree of celerity, it de- 
posits its eggs in any warm and moist situ- 
ation, as under hedges, in dunghills, &c. in 
the form of a continued chain or necklace of 
ova, to the number of twelve, fourteen, six- 
teen, or even twenty, of the size ot those of 
a blackbird, and of a whitish colour: these, 
according to the observations of Mr. White, 
do not hatch till the spring following. 
During the winter the snake conceals 
itself in any convenient retreat, and becomes 
nearly torpid, re-appearing in the spring, when 
it casts its skin, which cracking or opening 
on the edges of the lips, is, by the eti’orts of 
the animal, gradually thrown off, in an in- 
verted direction, throughout its whole length, 
to the very terminal scale of the tail ; anu so 
complete is the spoil or exuvium, as to ex- 
hibit the very coat or membrane rtf the eyes 
themselves: the whole skin is entirely trans- 
parent. 
8. The coluber atrovirens, or French snake, 
is an animal of a perfectly harmless nature, 
and, like the former, is capable of being 
tamed to a considerable degree. The count 
de Cepede relates, from Mr. Romare, an 
anecdote relative to a snake which he sup- 
poses to have been of this species, which had 
been so completely tamed by a lady, as to 
come to her whenever she called it, follow 
her in ha-walks, wreathe itself round her 
arms, and -sleep in her bosom. One day, 
when this lady went in a boat, to some dis- 
tance up a large river, she threw the snake 
into the water, imagining that it would 
readily recover the boat by swimming ; but 
the current proving unusually strong, at that 
juncture, owing to the advance ot tne tide, 
the poor animal, in spite of all its efforts to 
reach the vessel, was unfortunately drowned. 
9. The coluber constrictor, or black snake, 
is a large and very long snake ; some being 
six feet in length: they are all over of a 
shining black, never changing their colour ; 
and arc very nimble and beneficial in killing 
rats, which they pursue with wonderful agility 
to the roofs and all parts of houses and barns, 
where rats are able to run, for which service 
they are preserved by most of the inhabit- 
ants: they are bold and furious, leaping at 
and biting those that attack them, though 
no harm ensues ; their bile not being veno- 
mous: it is commonly said in Carolina that 
they will attack and swallow rattle-snakes: 
it is certain that most or all snakes will devour 
one another, not only of their own but of 
other kinds. They are the most numerous 
of all snakes in North America. 
“ Many ridiculous frights,” says Mr. Pen- 
nant, “ have happened from this innocent 
reptile. As every one in America is full of 
the dread of the rattle-snake, they are apt to 
fly at the sight of any of the serpent kind. 
This pursues, soon overtakes, and twisting 
round the legs of the fugitive, soon brings him 
to the ground ; but he happily receives no 
hurt, but what may result from the fright; 
all the mischief this species does is to the 
housewives, for it will skim their milk-pans 
of the cream, and rob their hen-roosts of all 
the eggs.” 
10. The coluber austriacus, or smooth 
snake, is found in France and several other 
parts of Europe. It inhabits moist meadows, 
hedges, watry places, &c. It is of a fierce 
disposition in its wild state, biting with much 
eagerness such animals as happen to attack 
it ; but is incapable of producing any injury, 
being unprovided with poisonous fangs, and 
is easily tamed, in which state it shows a con- 
siderable degree of attachment. It occasion- 
ally varies somewhat in colour, the upper 
parts having a strong tinge of rufous, and the 
abdomen of dusky brown or even blackish, 
while the sides have a cast of yellow or 
green. 
1 1 . The coluber gemmatus, or bugle 
snake, is a beautiful species : length about 
fifteen or sixteen inches, colour of the upper 
parts blue, with three narrow equidistant 
stripes from head to tail ; the two lateral 
stripes being white, the middle one black, 
marked by a row of small white specks al- 
ternately oblong and round, representing a 
small string of beads and bugles : head large- 
scaled, and marked on each side by three or 
four spots forming a band across the eyes, 
the top spotted with pale blue marks bor- 
dered with black : the abdomen is white, 
each scutum being marked at its edge, near 
the body, with a small black speck, forming 
two rows down the abdomen: native country 
unknown: described by Cepede from a speci- 
men in the royal cabinet. 
12. The coluber, mycterizans, or long- 
snouted snake, is in colour grass-green, with 
a yellow line on each side the abdomen: 
habit remarkably slender, measuring about 
three feet and a half in length, and about half 
an inch in diameter: head moderately large, 
long, and very sharp-snouted, the upper jaw 
running far beyond llie lower: sometimes 
this species varies in having an additional 
pair of yellow abdominal lines, running down 
the middle of that part : it is an innoxious 
snake, though erroneously marked as poison” 
ousin the Systema Naturae, ow ing to the fang- 
like appearance of its large and long teeth 
in the upper jaw. It is a native of many 
parts of North America, where it is princi- 
pally seen on trees, moving with great ve- 
locity in pursuit of insects, on which it is said 
principally to feed. 
13. The coluber ahaetulla, or iridescent 
snake, is one of the most beautiful of the 
whole serpent tribe (See Plate Nat. Hist, 
fig. 134)’ ; and in general, easily distinguished 
by its blue-green gilded tinge, accompanied 
bf iridescent hues : its habit is long and slen- 
der, measuring about three l'eet and a hall', 
or four fert, in length, and about half or three 
quarters of an inch in diameter: the skin, 
between the scales, is blackish, and in some 
parts gives an additional beauty to the ge- 
neral colour: across the cheeks, passing 
through the eyes, is a jet-black streak: the 
head is covered above with large scales, and 
the snout is' slightly elongated, but by no 
means pointed: the abdomen is pale and 
flatfish, as in the mycterizans and some 
others of this tribe, and the tail is angular, 
thin, and of very considerable length. This 
species is entirely innocent, and is a native 
of several parts of India. 
COLUBR1NUM lignum, snake-wood. 
See Materia Medica. 
COLUMBA, in ornithology, the pigeon, 
a genus belonging to the or her of passeres. 
The characters of this genus are as follow : 
the bill is straight towards the paint; the nos- 
trils are oblong, and half-covered over with 
a soft tumid membrane; and the tongue is 
entire, that is, not cloven. There are about 
70 species, natives of different countries. 
The following arc the most remarkable: 
1. Columba coronata, or great crowned 
pigeon, a very large species, about the size ot 
a turkey. The bill is black, and two inches 
long; the irides are red; the head, neck, 
breast, belly, sides, thighs, and under tail- 
■ coverts, cinereous blue; the head is crested; 
the sex of a deep ash-colour. r I his species 
inhabits the Molucca isles and New Guinea, 
and has been brought to England alive. In 
size it far exceeds any of the pigeon tribe; 
but its form and manners tell us it can be- 
long to no other. Its note is cooing and 
plaintive, like that of other pigeons, only 
louder in proportion. The mournful notes 
of these birds alarmed the crew of Bougain- 
ville much, when in the neighbourhood of 
them, thinking they were the cries of the 
human species. In Fiance they were never 
observed to lay eggs, nor in Holland, though 
they were kept for some time. 
2. Columba malaccensis, the Malacca pi- 
geon described by Sonnerat, is little larger 
than the house-sparrow. It is a most beau- 
tiful species, and the flesh is said to be ex- 
tremely delicate. It has been transported 
into the Isle of France, where it lias multi- 
plied exceedingly. 
3. Columba migratoria, or pigeon of pas- 
sage, is about the size of an English wood- 
pigeon; the bill black: it is red; the head of. 
a dusky blue ; the breast and belly of a faint 
red; above the shoulder of the wing there is 
a patch of feathers shining like gold ; the wing 
is coloured like the Read, having some few 
spots of black ; the tail is very long, and co- 
vered with a black feather, under which the 
rest are white; the legs and feet are red. 
