HYLA VIRIDIS. 



121 



the sound of a small bell; and there seems in general to be one leader of their 

 orchestra, and when he raises his note, hundreds take it up from all parts of the 

 cornfield, and when he stops, the concert is at an end, until he again begins. 



They feed on various insects, especially the common fly, which they seize with 

 great adroitness, leaping a foot or more to secure it. At certain seasons they 

 may be seen on the ground on their way to pools of water; they are then exceed- 

 ingly active, leaping at times eight or ten feet. 



Geographical Distribution. For the present we must set down latitude 33°, 

 on the Atlantic coast, as the northern limit of the Hyla viridis; thence it extends 

 through Georgia, Florida and Alabama to Mississippi, but I have no evidence of 

 its existence further west. 



General Remarks. The first notice of the Hyla viridis, now under considera- 

 tion, is in Catesby's History of Carolina, &c.; he there calls it the Green 

 Tree-frog, and gives a very good detailed account of its habits, accompanied with 

 a tolerably accurate drawing. 



Linnajus seems to have regarded this animal as a variety of the common Rana 

 arborea, which he says, incorrectly however, inhabits both Europe and America. 



The next account of the Hyla viridis is found in the Synopsis Reptilium of 

 Laurenti, who first separated the genus Hyla from that of Rana. He called the 

 Tree-frog of Europe "Hyla viridis," and considered the Tree-frog of Catesby as 

 a variety under the same name. Now, the specific name of viridis cannot be 

 used for the Tree-frog of Europe, inasmuch as Linnajus and other naturalists had 

 previously imposed upon it that of arborea; and this leaves the specific name 

 viridis unapplied, and consequently it may be used for our animal, as given it by 

 Laurenti, who seemed to consider it as very distinct from the common Tree-frog 

 of Europe; nor can there be any doubt of his meaning, for he refers expressly to 

 Catesby's seventy-second plate of the second volume, saying, "Corpore tereti, 



Vol. IV.— 16 



