Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-03

had found birds inside of snakes, I con
ciuded-the ways of snakes being then new
to me-that they had probably caught
young birds as yet unable to fly or perhaps
taken a mother while sitting on the nest.
AS 1 continued to wander out constantly
about bush and veldt, observing the habits
Of snakes, 1 soon learned more precisely
about the matter than any books could tell
me. 90. -"
While rambling one day in that. arid tract
of country which lies to the north between
Grahamstown and the Great Fish river l.
sat down, tired and thirsty, about noon
time on the rocky hillside in the meager
shade of a tsengu tree.
After a time l heard the voices of birds
at some distance, and listened attentively to
locate the place where they We're. There
were many of them, and they made a con-
siderable and continuous noise, as II some
thing delighted or alarmed them. Aha.
thought l, some comedy or tragedy of the
wilderness is going on AS the disturb
ance continued, l concluded that they were
ra Their frightened than pleased; particularly
as l believed l could recognize notes of dis
tress among the discord of many voices.
Cautiously cropping down on the grass,
slowly crept off toward the place where
they were. My course lay up the incline,
toward ledge Of rocks running trans
versely. When ! get among the rocks,
lay cautiously down fiat to observe, for the
noise came from the branches of a spek-
boom growing little beyond, at the other
side of an open space. The place where it
grew was depression, and the rocks We're
some feet above 1t, so that looked more
or less down on the Spek- BOOM; which was
lower and grcener than the, trees about It.
The Spek-boom was not forty yards Off and
the birds were fluttering wildly around one
o. its leaiiest branches. . IS ..,.tt..
Discovered Snake.
Look as 1 might among these, small gray
ish green leaves could see nothing what
ever, and could not imagine what the birds
were after. An old stump Of rotten
branch stuck out from the midst of the
thick foliage at the point where the birds
were swar1ning l had seereit plainly from
the first. 1t was not a snake, and didn't
look a bit like one; nor did /, indeed, at that
moment think that snake was the cause
Of the commOtion among the birds. rather
agiped it was an owl or d hawk, perched
en- some of the inner limbs. But the ex-
cited flock few SO persistenfly and so moist
~ around the top Of the branch whence the
old stump protruded that l was forced to
look there again still more attentively than
before. TO my surprise now the old dead
stump seemed to jut further out than it
had done previously.
1 examined it, therefore, most carefully
through the glass-and what did discover?
the head and neck Of a snake lying along
On top Of it, with his snout projecting out
| beyond the end of 1t. With trembling
tongue and large, glistening eyes, the rep
| tile-a bOoniSlang or tree Snake-waS watch
ing the birds which menaced him. For
some seconds he never moved, so that I
noted him well. The fore part of his body
was stretched longitudinally along the
witheled stump, and so much like the gray
| ish green leaves and purplish twigs of the
spek-boOm was he in color that even with
| the glass l had much difficulty in seeing
| him clearly, unless when he moved. Alto
| gether, he was probably about six feet long.
| But the greater part Of his length was hid
| den iE the fat little leaves so like his scales.
! Had the birds not been there to betray his
presence, l should probably not even with
| the glass have ever noticed him.
| Tie birds, now f1ockins around the BOOM
| slang showed this trait of cumulative I'M
pudence most clearly. The snakes mac
| ton and growing confidence in their own
| numbers brought up to the fighting point
| the individual courage of every bird in the
flock. They actually began, while looked
| On, to attack the snake. One of them WITH
| claws and beak flew viciously at his nose,
whereupon he abruptly drew back beneath
| the leaves. But he soon again poked out
| his head and neck-evldently this time with
| determination to catch one-1 could see his
| intention by the gathering curves in his
r.eck. AS soon as he appeared again the
| birds drew off a little, as if repealed by his
| threatening appearance
The Excited Birds.
| Now he would look sharply to the left.
| and now to the right as If uncertain which
side he ought to attend to most. The birds
| perceiving that even now he didn't injure
| them. or even do anything alarming, grad
ually flew by in closer proximity to his
snout making If possible, still more noise
| than before. AS he drew out his body up
On the withered stump. the curves in his
| reck grew more numerous and defined. The
| birds probably suspected that he meant to
| attack them, for they now lowered about
his back ard not out before his nose. 1 no
t.ced that his tail was coiling more and
| more about the dead limb on which he lay
| he was clearly steddyng himself for a
| spring. At each moment the excited birds
| Came nearer and nearer to him, as If they
| meant to again attack him. They even
| swooped within a foot of him.
Suddenly he turned his head around side
ways, if looking backward, and Their
shot upward fully two feet of his length
Selling bird that had ventuTed within his
reach: The quickness of bis success sur
prised me. He had grabbed her from be
Leath by the body, SO that her wings wert
left free. She futtered wildly and squeak
ed loudly and pitifully, as to be heard
above the. noise, of her companions, wht
Instantly scattered in terror to the tops O.
the neighboring trees, leaving the triumph
ant boom-slang to enjoy his dinner In peace
Although snatching bird thpss from
threatening flock is not byI anydmeans tn
only way in which snakes secunef featheret
prey, still 1t Is perhaps the most. often to b.
seen, and is most spoken of ana lmisunder
! |
amined in analysis, SO that we may se
exactly how far astray Is 4, the popular. su
| perstition that the snake gets his prey b!
the hypnotic power of hisI stony and I'm
blir king stare. tG BIZ
e.i7at How 1t Happened. ; IA"
Reasoning from adventures of snake
. / with birds, which I have seen since II
South Africa, South America, the Yves
Indies and in the woods about New York
the explanation of the episode Of the boom
, slang and the birds is as follows: --e
/, The large-eyed tree snake. gliding slowl
| about the bush since early morning, say
no doubt from time; to time many birds
and many birds saw him, without CALM
together a flock to attack him.. On the con
trary, all these flew away at his approach
to peck at their berries in another tree o
t search a little further of for their insects
, always keeping one eye on their enemy, @
course, as long as they we're both in prox
5 unity. Why should they be undufy alarm
ed at mere sight Of snake? Snakes wer
e not at all uncommon, and were seen SO u1
ten that II birds were to gather in excite
8 hocks every time one was noticed by ther
gliding about in the sun, the poor bird