ii^ NOCTURNAL SCENERY, 



ponding as it were to each other, like the alter- 

 nate crowing of village cocks, is calculated W 

 make a strong impression. Whether this is the 

 call of love, the shout of superiority, or the cry of 

 battle, I do not know ; but if tliis be a fighting' 

 animal, I should think that these tremendous sounds 

 must be the heralds of approaching battles. In 

 countries surrounded by steep hills, the bull is 

 made extremely ferocious by the echo of his own 

 bellowing : In this case the bull-frog must be 

 sufficiently excited by the noise of hundreds of 

 antagonists in every considerable collection of 

 water. In addition to this I sometimes heard the 

 poise of the rana arborea, or tree-frog ; and a 

 sound like the noise made by the cat-gut of a 

 fiddle when tried by a musician. This proceeded 

 from a frog which 1 saw frequently on the canal 

 and which in my opinion is a non-descript, as I 

 do not believe it to be the rana boans, or croaking 

 frog of Europe. 



The interest of this nocturnal scenery v/as great- 

 ly heightened by the melancholy cries oi the ca- 

 primulgus virginianus. Its name, ivhip-poor-ivtll] 

 is derived from its noise, which is undoubtedly the 

 signal of assignation. It differs specifically from 

 the European goat sucker. The Indians consider 

 it a bird of evil omen, and thatif light on a house, 

 the death of some of the inhabitants is inevitable 



