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RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



93 



Reptiles and Batrachians of Rhode Island. 



BY HERMON C. BUMPUS. 



Number XV. 



2. Rana clamitans Merrem. {Rana fon- 

 tinalis Le Conte.) The Screaming, Green 

 or Spring Frog is with ns a most abundant 

 animal, to be found at all periods of the 

 year in those open brooks and springs 

 which are not covered with ice, and inhabit- 

 ing every ditch, small pool, or muddy brook 

 during the spring and summer months. 

 The 3'oung of this species are ver}' abun- 

 dant in the shallow valleys of our oak and 

 chestnut woods, where the}' congregate in 

 pools left b}' the melted snow, and, during 

 the warmer portions of the day, scramble 

 over the half submerged branches, or quietly 

 bask in the. sun's rays. 



As a person wanders through the woods 

 on a spring da}', he is startled b}' suddenly 

 surprising one of these happy colonies, the 

 individuals of which, in their efforts to find 

 concealment, splash into the water with 

 screams of fright, there to immediately find 

 no suitable hiding-place, however, but in a 

 moment to let their uneasiness give way to 

 curiosit}' as the}' allow themselves to come 

 to the surface and e3'e the object of their 

 confusion. 



On observing one of the little fellows as 

 he rests on the water, one is impressed with 

 the singular example of protective resem- 

 blance which he exhibits. The general 

 form presents no points contrasting with 

 the surrounding twigs and irregularly curved 

 leaves. The color is remarkabl}^ like that 

 of the algai, banded with dark stripes of a 

 shade of rotten bark and maculated with 

 spots of minute patches of fungus. 



Though now of small size the Green Frog 

 can be distinguished from the Bull Frog by 

 the characteristic features given in the 

 previous number. 



The young Green Frogs are not alwa3's, 

 however, allowed to thus live in peace and 

 happiness, for not unfrequentl_y there is 

 concealed in some dark recess of their nur- 

 sery a gigantic Bull Frog who makes a daily 

 meal of one of their number, or, worse still, 

 the}' are presided over by a pair of their own 

 kind, possibly their own parents, who do 

 not hesitate to make away with large num- 

 bers of the aspiring youth. 



Like many other animals of wide geo- 

 graphical range, the present species, pre- 

 senting in different localities different vari- 

 eties, has been described under several 

 different names. So eminent a naturalist 

 as Holbrook considered the more northern 

 representatives to be of a distinct species, 

 following the description of Le Conte, de- 

 scribing them under the name of Rana fon- 

 tinalis, a name, by the way, which is well 

 chosen as illustrating the habits of the 

 animal. 



Though during the day the Green Frog 

 remains so near the water that a few jumps 

 will enable him to reach the element of 

 comparative safety, in rainy weather when 

 the grass is wet, and during the damp nights, 

 he not infrequently wanders away from 

 water in search of insect life or new fields 

 of plunder. While on these excursions 

 he may be surprised by the Night Heron, 

 or picked up by the larger owls. 



Rana clamitans is, with us, only exceeded 

 in size by the Bull Frog. Specimens 

 measuring over eight inches in length, from 

 the snout to the tips of the toes, are not 

 uncommon. 



Successful Rearing of some Young Dusky 

 Ducks. 



I HAVE known of the experiment being 

 tried more than once before without success, 

 and have heard it emphatically asserted that 

 the species was untamable ; but my neighbor 

 has exploded that theory and now has three 

 of the birds among his flock of domestic Pe- 

 kins, where they eat their share of the 

 meal and assert their rights among the flock 

 as eagerly as if they were to the manor born. 

 This clutch of eggs was found by a boy and 

 set under a hen, who brought out seven 

 ducklings. Some escaped early from their 

 pen and were seen no more. A neighbor's cat 

 further despoiled the flock, when the re- 

 maining three were taken by my neighbor 

 and attached to his flock of young Pekins 

 with whom they at once afiiliated and be- 

 came ring-leaders in mischief and wander- 

 ing where the old mother duck could not 

 follow for the cord that tied her up. A 

 roomy yard now detains them all, where 

 they are developing in good shape, already 

 over three months old. — J. N. Clark. 



