RAXIDJEj FROGS; TREE FROGS. BUFONID^J. 533 



is a well-known example. It is generally to be found in the 

 neighbourhood of water, and swims well ; but after it has finally 

 quitted the Tadpole condition, by the casting of the last portions 

 of its tail, it passes the greater part of its life on the ground, 

 preying upon insects, which it captures with its extensible tongue. 

 Numerous species of Frogs occur in warm climates, but their 

 habits are generally similar to those of the common Frog. The 



Tree Frogs, however, of 

 which one species is abund- 

 ant on the continent of Eu- 

 rope, are adapted for an 

 arboreal existence ; the ex- 

 tremities of the toes being 

 dilated into little pads, usu- 

 ally endued with a sticky 

 secretion, which are of great 

 service to them in climbing 

 about trees. They are active 



-HYLA OR TREE-FROG. ii tt i e crea tures, and elegant 



in their forms; they are able to change their colour to suit the 

 objects which surround them. They breed in the water, and, like 

 the common Frogs, bury themselves in the mud to pass the winter. 

 528. The BUFONID^E, or Toads, differ from the Frogs in the 



absence of teeth in the upper 

 jaw. They are also oY a heavier 

 appearance, and the hind legs 

 are much shorter than in the 

 Frogs ; so that they are in- 

 capable of performing the leaps 

 which are characteristic of the 

 movements of the Frogs. The 

 skin is covered with glandular 

 warts, from w hich an acrid fluid 

 is secreted. They feed, like the 

 Frogs, on insects, which they 

 - TOAD - . capture by means of their ex- 



tensible tongue. Their eggs are laid in the water in long neck- 

 lace-like strings, enclosed in a gelatinous matter. 



