Rattle Snake

  The rattle snake of America is a large, brownish, dangerously poisonous snake, the bite of which is fatal to man. It has a rattle at the tip of its tail, composed of a series of loose horny rings, which when shaken, produce a rattling sound. These rings increase in number with age. The rattle snake feeds upon small mammals, which they hunt at night. It is sluggish in disposition and does not bite readily except when disturbed. During the cold weather it hibernates underground. The noise of the rattle is very loud in dry weather, but much duller on wet days and is a shrill sound like that of a rattling alarm clock. Rattle snakes are confined to America.

The Sand Boa

   John's sand boa (Eryx johni johni) is uniformly pale, sandy brown above and whitish below, or almost entirely brown. This snake bears two small reddish spots near the tail, resembling the eyes. This has given rise to the popular belief (though false), that this snake changes its head from one end of the body to the other every six months alternately, and hence the popular name in Tamil, Iruthalai Pambu. They are sluggish, inoffensive snakes, inhabiting dry sandy areas and kills their prey by constricting before swallowing. They feed on small mammals, birds, snakes and frogs. Six to eight young ones are produced at a time.

The Banded Krait

      The Banded Krait (Bungarus fasciatus) (Tamil: Kattuviriyan) is characterised by the presence of a prominent ridge down the back and tail and is alternately banded with black and bright yellow. It is found in many parts if India.