Rare or local in the north of its range (Maine-et-Loire, Vienne, Indre, Sarthe, Haute-Saône, Yonne, Aube, in France, Switzerland north of the Alps), it is one of the commonest snakes in Italy and on the borders and islands of the Adriatic, as well as on practically all the islands of the Mediterranean east of the Baleares. The highest altitudes at which it has been met with are 3,900 feet in the Alps, 4,500 feet in the Balkan Peninsula. _Habits._--The name "Whip-snake," under which an American representative of this genus (_Z. flagelliformis_) is known, like that of "Fouet" and "Loucinglant," which have been bestowed on it in some parts of France, expresses the quick movements with which, when captured, this snake lashes its long, slender tail, at the same time furiously biting the hand that has seized it. The generic term _Zamenis_, of Greek derivation, alludes to its viciousness, which also accounts for its German name, "Zornnatter." This snake, occurring in Malta, may well have been the "Viper" which fastened on the hand of St. Paul. Some specimens have been kept for months in captivity without losing their savage temper, hissing and flying with open mouth at anyone approaching the glass walls of their prison; others, on the other hand, become quite tame in a very short time, such as one which I kept for nearly two years. Except when sunning itself on a cold early morning in the spring, this snake is always on the alert, and difficult to capture, uncoiling itself and darting away like an arrow at the least disturbance. It lives in preference among shrubs or on the edges of woods, avoiding damp localities, and females at least appear to have sedentary tastes. Lataste tells us of one, near Bordeaux, which he repeatedly met for over two years within 20 yards of the same spot, a bush between a wood and a meadow, without ever being able to capture it. _PLATE V_ [Illustration: ZAMENIS GEMONENSIS, VAR. CASPIUS _After Sordelli_] [Illustration: ZAMENIS DAHLII _After Sordelli_] [Illustration: ZAMENIS HIPPOCREPIS _After Sordelli_] The food of this snake is very varied, consisting of voles and mice, young birds which it takes from the nests, being a good climber on bushes and low trees, occasionally of frogs, but above all of other reptiles: lizards, slow-worms, and snakes, which it does not attempt to crush before deglutition. It has even been observed in Istria to eat locusts (_Acridium ægyptium_) and sphyngid moths.