\l 



HYLIDAE 201 



inch of the everted gullet are protruded out of the mouth, and 

 are then slowly withdrawn. After having roamed about all 

 night, they return to their respective resting-places, where each 

 individual is sure to be found in exactly the same spot, day after 

 day. They do not mind being looked at, but if taken up and 

 put back they avoid that place for perhaps a week, taking 

 shelter somewhere else. 



Both sexes have a voice, but that of the female is only a 

 grunting noise, while the male inflates its gular sac and sends 

 forth a sharp cracking sound, which can turn into a regular 

 bellowing like the gruff barking of an angry dog. They bellow 

 at any time of the year, frequently on the approach of a shower 

 or during a thunderstorm. Certain noises will also induce them 

 to bark. The rattling produced by the syringing of the 

 greenhouse, sawing of wood, hammering, the raking of the gravel, 

 or even the scraping of boots on the gravel -path is liable to 

 start one of the males, and the others are sure to chime in. 



According to Fletcher, H. coerulea and H. aurea lay their 

 eggs in round white frothy patches, which float in the water, 

 chiefly during the months of August and September ; but when 

 the spring months are very dry, the pairing is delayed until 

 the following January. Several other Australian species of 

 Hyla, e.g. H. ewingi, spawn at any time of the year if the 

 conditions are favourable. They attach their eggs to sub- 

 merged blades of grass or to twigs. 



H. aurea is one of the commonest and most beautiful species, 

 occurring throughout Australia and Tasmania, excepting of 

 course in the large deserts. It has the appearance and restlessness 

 of a water-frog, is not unlike Eana esculenta, and grows to about 

 three inches in length. The tympanum is very distinct, but 

 rather small. The fingers are without a pollex-rudiment, the 

 tarsus has a fold along its inner edge. The adhesive discs are 

 decidedly small. The male has two internal vocal sacs, which 

 bulge out sideways. The skin is smooth and shiny. The 

 under parts are white ; the upper parts are, speaking generally, 

 a mixture of blue and olive, with blue or brown spots, but spirit- 

 specimens give no idea of the beauty which this changeable 

 species can assume. Sometimes the same individual is saturated 

 blue and green, with several longitudinal stripes of burnished 

 copper along the back ; a few minutes later the stripes glitter 



