The spitting is used only in defense and never to obtain food. Vision is well developed in most snakes, but many burrowing snakes are virtually blind. Snakes have a strong sense of smell, which is relied on to a large extent in hunting food. Snakes find their prey by sight and scent, and sometimes temperature. Except for burrowing species, snakes have excellent short-range vision.
Snakes are deaf to airborne sounds.
The Cobra does not hear, as it is believed, the snake -charmer's flute. They can, however, feel vibrations through the ground or whatever they are resting on. Depending on the species, snakes may be egg-layers or give birth to live young. They generally mate in the spring, shortly after leaving whatever hollow, burrow or rock crevice has sheltered them through winter hibernation. Egg-layers usually deposit groups of eggs in dirt, beneath stones or logs, or in piles of decaying wood or vegetation during late spring or early summer.