ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, WITH EXAMPLES 



259 



mouth, it stopped further attack. The hawk then stepped 

 aside, away from the toad on the ground, and flew to a perch 

 above. In the meantime, he repeatedly shook his head vio- 

 lently and went through the act of swallowing over and over 

 again, as if endeavoring to get rid of some disagreeable taste 

 in his mouth. No inducement could make him show any further 

 interest in the toad. 



The toad lay in one position for some minutes after the 

 attack and then jumped away, getting under some herbage ; 

 it seemed to be unharmed by the ordeal. This attack on the 

 toad by the hawk showed admirably the defensive nature of 

 a poisonous excretion from some skin glands possessed by 

 the toad. These defensive structures in the toad, together 

 with protective resemblance to its surroundings, go far to 

 aid in the preservation of the species. 



A tame crow which I raised from a nestling during the year 

 1909 exhibited a great liking for very young toads which were 

 from a half inch to an inch in length. They were not usually 

 eaten at once, but were picked up in his bill and repeatedly 

 pressed before he swallowed them. Later on in the season, 

 when the toads became larger, the crow showed the same 

 desire to capture them, but was more reluctant about eating 

 them. In almost every case then he would hide them, tucking 

 them out of sight under grass or stones. I never saw him 

 touch a full-grown toad. It is possible that the secretion of 

 the skin of young toads is less distasteful than in the adults. 



