The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-10-10
SNAKES CATCH BIRDS.

A Difference of Opinion as to How
They Do 1t.
Theory of O'Reilly, the Snake Man-Does
Not Believe That Reptiles Hypnotize
Their Feathered Prey.
(Washington.Star.)
In 1875, shortly after my arrival in
South Africa, Cape farmer told me
that snakes catch birds while flying and
that he himself had witnessed them do
ing 1t.
'tAnd where do they get the salt?"
asked for wouldn'u believe that reptiles
apparently 10 uninteliigent could really
catch birds on the wing. "They byp-
notize tLem," said he. The idea Of hyp-
notism, of course, secuted from the
first When, soon afterward, I read that
soma snakes feed on birds, and when
the curator of the South African muse
UNI at Grahamstown told me that he
had found birds inside of snakes con-
cluded-tha ways of snakes being then
new to me-that they had probably
caught young birds az yet unable to fly,
or perhaps taken O mother while sitting
on the nest.
As I continued to wander out con-
stantly about bush and veldt, observing
the habits Of snakss, soon learned more
precisely about the matter than any
books could tell me.
While rambling one day in TINT arid
traot Of country which lies to the north
Fish river, sat down, tired and thirsty,
about noonttme on the rocky hillside in
the meager shade Of a tsengu tree.
After time heard the voices of birds
at some distance, and listened attentive
ly to locate the place where they were.
made q considerable and continuous
noise, as If something delighted OF
alarmed them. "Ah," thought I. ''some
comedy or tragedy OF the wilderness Is
going on" AS the distuI bance con-
tinued concluded that they were rather
frightened than pleased; particularly as
believed could recognize notes Of dis
tress among the discord of many vol ces.
Cautiously dropping 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
verely. When got among the rocks
/ lay cautiously down fiat to observe, for
the noise came from the branches of a
spekboom growing little beyond, at
the other side OF an open space. The
place where it grew was depression,
and the rocks were some feet above it, so
that looked more or less down on the
spek- boom, which was lower and graener
than the trees about 1t. The spek. boom
was not forty yards off, and tho birds
we're futtering wildly around one of its
leafiest branches.
DISCOVERED A SNAKE.
Look as I might among these small
grayish leaves could see nothing what
ever and could not imagine what the
birds were after. An old stump of a
rotten branch stuck out from the midst
Of the thick foliage. at the point where
the birds were swarming. had seen 1t
plainly from the first. 1t was not q
snake, and didn't look bit like one; nor
did I, indeed, at that moment think that
snake was the cause of the commotion
among the birds. rather imagined 1t
was an owl or hawk, perched on some
of the inner limbs. But the excited
flock few SO persistently and so noisiIy
around the top of the branch whence the
old stump protruded that 1 was forced
to look there again still more attentively
than tefore. To my surprise now tho old
dead stump seemed to jut further out
than it had done previously.
l examined it, therefore, most careful
discover--the head and neck of snake
lying along on top Of it, with his sno ut
projecting out beyond the end of 1t.
With trem bling tongue and large. glist-
ening eyes. the roptile-a. boomslang or
tree snake-was watching the birds
which menaced him. For some seconds
he never moved, 80 that I noted him
well. Ihe fore part of his body was
stretched longitudinally along the
witherad stump, and so much like the
grayish green leaves and purplish twigs
of the spek-boom was he in color that
even with the glass ! had much difficulty
in seeing him clearly unless when he
moved. Altogether he was probably
about six feet long. But the greater
part Of his length was hidden in the fat
little leaves Sc like his scales. Had the
birds not been there to betray his pres
ence should probably not even with the
glass have ever noticed BIN.
The birds, now locking around the
boom-slanR, showed this trait of cum ula-
tive impudenee most clearly. The
snakes lnaction and growing conf
dsnce IN their own numbers brought up to