There are two or three species of whip snakes, or Dryadidae, remarkable
for the slender elegance of their forms, and in general for the great
beauty of their colouring, as well as for the rapidity of their
movements. The whip snake, having seized its prey, winds its light and
lithe body round its victim, coil upon coil, like the boa and anaconda,
and strangles it in its embrace.
The emerald whip snake (Philodryas viridissimus) is one of the most
beautiful. So slender is its body that, although two feet long or more,
it can coil itself up within a space not larger than the hollow of the
hand. It lives in trees, and may be seen sporting amid the branches;
but the moment it catches sight of a person, away it darts, scarcely
moving the branches and leaves amid which it makes its way.