GEEEN TEEE FEOG. 25 



they are far more graceful. During tlie summer tliej^ live upon the 

 leaves of trees in damp woods, and pass the winter at the bottom 

 of some pond, which they do not leave till the month of May, 

 after having deposited their eggs. They feed on small insects, 

 worms, and mollusks ; and in order to catch them, they will 

 remain in the same place an entire day. During the glare of the 

 sun, they remain hidden amongst the leaves ; but when twilight 

 approaches, they move about and climb up the trees. We must 

 repeat of these Green Tree Frogs what we have already said of 

 Frogs. Get rid of all prejudice towards their kind, and then you 

 will examine with pleasure their lively colours, which harmonize 

 so well with the green leaves ; remark their tricks and ambus- 

 cades ; follow them in their little hunting excursions ; see them 

 suspended upside down upon the leaves in a manner which 

 appears marvellous to those who are not aware of the organs 

 which have been given to enable them to attach themselves to the 

 smoothest bodies : and it will give as much pleasure as can be 

 derived from the consideration of the plumage, habits, and flight 

 of birds. The croak of the Green Tree Frogs is like that of other 

 Frogs, although less sharp and sometimes stronger in the males ; 

 it can be pretty well translated by the syllables caraccarac, pro- 

 nounced from the throat. This cry is principally heard in the 

 morning and evening ; then, when one Frog begins to utter its 

 croak, all the others imitate it. In the quiet night the voice of 

 a troop of these little Batrachians sometimes reaches to an enor- 

 mous distance. 



Toads, Bufo, are squat and disagreeable in shape : it is difficult 

 to comprehend why nature, which has bestowed elegance and a 

 kind of grace vipon Frogs and Tree Frogs, has stamped the Toad 

 with so repulsive a form. These much despised beings occiq^y 

 a large place in the order of nature : they are distributed with pro- 

 fusion, but one cannot say exactly to what end ; their movements are 

 heavy and sluggish. In colour they are usuall}^ of a livid grey, 

 spotted with brown and yellow, and disfigured by a number of pus- 

 tules or warts. A thick and hard skin covers a flat back : its larsre 

 belly always appears to be swollen ; the head a little broader than 

 the rest of its body ; the mouth and the eyes are large and pro- 

 minent. It lives chiefly at the bottom of ditches, especially those 



