14 SEX-LORE 



2. VERTEBRATES. 



We have all heard of the famous " frog who would 

 a-wooing go." This must have happened in the 

 early spring, for that is the pairing time of the frogs. 

 We are not told in the poem with what sort of music 

 he serenaded his fair lady. The musical talent is 

 possessed as a rule by the male frog only, and exerts 

 a great attraction on the female. The common frog 



FIG. 8. CHAMELEON (Chameeleon Owenit). 



Upper figure, male ; lower figure, female. 



(From " The Descent of Man," by C. Darwin.) 



attains to nothing more than a croak ; but some frogs 

 can mew like cats and others bark like dogs. The 

 ponds in spring and summer will sometimes resound 

 with the massed concerts of the lovers. 



Coming to the reptiles, we find that the decorations 

 of the lizards take in the males the form of crests, 

 horns, and exposed bare skin, which is often vividly 

 coloured with all the hues of the rainbow (Fig. 8). 



