Most people and animals have a dread of snakes. So what better way of defence than to imitate a snake? Cats are known to spit and hiss when they are provoked. Some birds do it, too. A woodpecker called the Wryneck extends its long neck, sways and makes a hissing sound when guarding its nest.
Another bird that uses the same ploy is the little cut-throat finch of Africa. The male has a blood-red band of feathers around its throat, hence, the name. The finch makes a ball-shaped nest. If it is disturbed while sitting on its eggs, it does not fly away like most small birds would do, but stays put and hisses like a snake, eyes gleaming coldly! It then begins a remarkable ‘snake dance’. It writhes its body sinuously, undulating exactly like a crawling snake.
So lifelike is the display that even human beings instinctively draw back in fear.