234 SNAKES. 
to a height of between three thousand and four thousand feet. Except during 
the pairing-season, when it is found in couples, it is a solitary creature, subsisting 
on other snakes, mice, voles, birds, and lizards. 
As being one of the deadliest of Indian snakes, we may take 
as our next example of the genus the beautiful Russell’s viper 
(V. russelli), of India, Ceylon, Burma, and Siam. From the other viper inhabiting 
Kashmir, this species may be distinguished by having the rostral shield of the 
head as long as broad, and the scales on the body arranged in from twenty-seven 
to thirty-one rows. Sometimes known as the chain-viper, this snake attains a 
russell’s viper Q- nat. size). 
length of 4 feet. Its ground-colour is pale brown, with three longitudinal series 
of black light-edged rings, sometimes replaced by faint dark spots; the lower- 
parts being yellowish white, either with or without small crescentic black spots. 
In young specimens, as shown in our illustration, the black rings on the upper- 
parts surround dark reddish brown spots, which in the middle series are in contact 
with one another. Sir J. Fayrer regards this snake as being, next to the cobra, 
the most dangerous in India, stating that fowls bitten by it sometimes expire 
in less than a minute. “ It is nocturnal in its habits, is sluggish, and does not 
readily strike unless irritated, when it bites with great fury; it hisses fiercely and 
strikes with vigour. Its long movable fangs are very prominent objects, and with 
them it is capable of inflicting deep as well as poisoned wounds. When disturbed, 
