IO SHARP EYES 



up " which you shall chance to hear first in your late 

 winter rambles ; and if they are ever to be satisfactorily 

 fixed in the memory by their songs, it must be at this 

 season, when an isolated solo is among the possibilities. 

 In the teeming din of the April chorus their disentan- 

 glement is a hopeless task. But the "cricket," with his 

 shrill rattling pipe, easily plays the second whistle, and 

 there is not the slightest reason for confounding it with 

 that of the Hylodes. The pure, unbroken tone is from 

 the yellow throat of the Pickering, and when once fa- 

 miliarized will not be forgotten. All those other efforts 

 which fail to meet that standard of purity may be cred- 

 ited to the comical little harlequin with the pretty mot- 

 tled tights which I have coaxed out of the water, and 

 placed where his pert figure can be seen, side by side 

 with his rival. Whatever confusion there may be in the 

 vocal identity of the two frogs, there is no confounding 

 them when seen out of the water. The Pickering Hy- 

 lodes is yellowish in tone, more or less mottled with 

 darker tints of the same, the depth of the color varying 

 with different individuals. 



What a contrast to the " cricket," with his olive-green 

 coat splashed with black and red, and the large black 

 spots rimmed with white upon the sides ! In the water, 

 with nothing visible but the tips of their noses and pro- 

 jecting eyes, and their voices alone to recommend them, 

 the Pickering peeper has the advantage ; but he may 

 well take a back seat on dry land when he appeals alone 

 to the eye. 



The markings of the " cricket " vary in prominence in 

 different individuals, occasionally being almost obsolete; 

 but they may always be found upon close examination, 

 and are an unmistakable means of identification. 



