(4) C. macclellandii.—Head and neck black, with a yellow transverse band behind the eyes. The space separating the eyes equal to that separating them from the mouth. Colour reddish-brown on the back, with regular and equi-distant black streaks; belly yellow, with black bands or quadrangular spots. The head exhibits two black transverse bands separated by a yellow band.
Total length, 620 millimetres; tail 55.
Habitat: Nepal, Sikkim, Assam, Burma, Southern China.
(5) C. bibronii.—Met with by Beddome in the forests of Malabar, at an altitude of 3,280 feet. Back purplish-brown, with a pearly lustre, and about forty irregular black transverse bands, extending to the tip of the tail. Head black in front, cherry-red on the occiput.
Total length, 640 millimetres; tail 50.
Habitat: Malabar.
All the snakes belonging to the genus Callophis are remarkable for their bright and varied colours, whence the generic name, which signifies “beautiful snakes.”
They feed exclusively on other snakes belonging to the Family Calamaridæ; consequently they are not found in regions where Calamaridæ do not occur, as, for instance, in Ceylon.
They are essentially terrestrial, and live in old tree-trunks, or clefts in rocks. They are sluggish, slow-moving, and chiefly nocturnal.