SHORT STUDIES OF EATRACHIANS. 331 



opportunity of seeing him in the act of " peep "-ing. 

 One Saturday evening, late in April, 1882, as I was walk- 

 ing along the bank of a narrow ditch in the neighbor- 

 ing meadow, I was startled by the shrill " kweep " of a 

 " peeper." I say startled, for the sound seemed to come 

 from directly under my feet, as though I had trodden 

 upon the little fellow and crushed this one agonized cry 

 from him. Instantly I stopped, and waited patiently for 

 several moments. All was silent, until I imitated the 

 cry as best I could, when immediately the little frog an- 

 swered me. I knew then that he was not even hurt, 

 and straightway I began to search for him, as I was very 

 anxious to see one uttering the shrill note peculiar to 

 its species. I first stooped ; but failing in this to get a 

 glimpse of him, I then lay flat upon the damp meadow. 

 At every change of position the little fellow ceased his 

 shrill cry ; but a moment's quiet on my part restored his 

 confidence, and the piercing " kweep " again sounded so 

 shrilly that I was confident the animal must be within a 

 foot of my face. Still I failed to find him. Not dis- 

 couraged, but fearful of rheumatism, I was about to retire, 

 when I was joined by my son, who took a position near 

 by and scanned the grass along the ditch-bank, as only 

 his younger eyes could ; and he soon discovered the lit- 

 tle hylodes upon the opposite bank of the ditch, much 

 farther away than I had supposed. We had a full view 

 of him, as he was clinging to two blades of grass in a 

 perpendicular position, head up and hips down. The 

 note or " kwep " was preceded by the formation of an 

 immense air-sack in the throat. This was as large, I 

 thought, as the animal itself. As suddenly as it came, 

 the sack disappeared ; and simultaneously with the col- 

 lapse came the shrill note I have described. The whole 

 act was so rapid that I could scarcely follow it, though I 



