Explore "The World of the Great Forest" by Paul B. Du Chaillu on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Omembas are very numerous and much dreaded by all the animals and human beings of the great forest. There are many species differing greatly in their colors and the designs of their skins. Some are very large, and others quite small. Many are very poisonous, and their bites cause death. Those having no fangs are not poisonous.
Some of the omembas spend a great part of their lives in the water. Others live chiefly among the branches of trees, while many crawl on the ground. Quite a number are night snakes. Many have skins resembling in color their habitats, which enables them to catch their prey without being detected by their victims. Those that are green live chiefly among shrubs or in thickets, where they more readily catch birds and devour their eggs. Others are of the color of the bark of trees, round which they coil to wait for prey. Several are of the color of dead leaves that have fallen on the ground. Several species have a good knowledge of color.