CHAPTER X. 



THE NATTER-JACK. 



Bufo calamita. 



IN colour the Natter-Jack is of a more uniform tint, its spots being 

 less conspicuous than those of B. vulgaris. It is yellowish-brown, 

 shaded with olive, with a distinct yellow, or cream-coloured line 

 down the back. But I observe that all these creatures vary so 

 much in tint, that one cannot positively affirm that a frog or a 

 toad is precisely of this or that hue. The bright line and the 

 mode of progression in the Natter-Jack render it, however, unmis- 

 takable. It neither hops nor crawls, but walks nimbly, and in 

 warm weather, under excitement, runs with a smooth and easy 

 motion, very like that of a mouse, only not too quickly but that 

 you can^ follow the action of its limbs. 



Bufo calamita used to be frequent on the heaths and commons 

 in the vicinity of London ; but with the spread of population it 

 has, like the wild flowers, almost disappeared. In the fen and 

 marshy counties, and in some parts of Scotland, it is still common, 

 and occasionally in Ireland. Its name Calamita (from calami, 

 reeds) indicates its favourite localities. 



It appears to be able to adapt itself to variations of climate 

 and soil more readily than either the common toad or the frog. 

 Sir William Jardine found some in a marsh so near to Solway 

 Frith that the water was almost brackish ; while Bell assures us 

 that in his own garden near Poole they were more frequent than 

 the common toad, and that he saw them sometimes in the hottest 

 and dryest situations, exposed to the full rays of the summer's 

 sun. Mr. W. R. Tate records that he also found them in sunny 

 places. We do not hear so much about the Natter-Jack as a pet. 

 Tate, however, kept some that he succeeded in taming sufficiently 

 to take food from his hand ; they catch it on their tongues in the 

 same manner as other toads. He gives them the character of 

 being more sociable than B. vulgaris, always going in pairs. 

 Also more intelligent, at any rate less deliberate, as they do not 



