OF THE UNITED STATES 105 



again on the back. When one comes to study them closely the 

 eyes of one of these tree-toads are very beautiful structures, as 

 are the eyes of our common toads. 



It took me over an hour one summer's afternoon to secure a 

 good photograph of a pair of tree-toads, and I found them far 

 more difficult subjects than many young birds I have succeeded 

 with in half the time. They have a habit of suddenly moving, or 

 even jumping, when one least expects, and as an exposure of 

 half a minute had to be given them, owing to the very small dia- 

 phragm used, the task came to be one of great difficulty. One 

 might be easy enough, but two was a contract. Their jumps are 

 of a very extraordinary character, for they can not only spring 

 some considerable distance, but they are able to hit the point 

 they start for with a remarkable degree of accuracy. In my 

 photograph (Fig. 26) the upper specimen is just balancing himself 

 for a leap, and from this attitude he can launch into the air for 

 two or three feet, and with certainty land upon any selected leaf 

 in a tree he may care to, it being no bigger than the leaves shown 

 in the picture. They can also jump to a horizontal place, alight- 

 ing back downward, and a vertical plane surface gives them 

 no trouble at all to land upon. All this is accomplished by 

 means of the little disk-like suckers on the under side of the ends 

 of each and all the toes and fingers. No doubt the moisture ever 

 present on the under side of the body aids, too, in their sticking to 

 the variously inclined surfaces they alight on in their leaps 

 among the leaves and branches of their haunts. 



Frequently, when at rest, a tree-toad will assume the posture 

 seen in the lower specimen of my photograph, and it is when thus 

 resting that they give vent to their peculiar pipings during 

 cloudy or rainy weather. Often I have heard them set up a 

 clamorous chorus in the night time, and they are simply tremen- 

 dously noisy during the breeding season. Some claim that these 

 tree-toads likewise possess ventriloquial powers, that deceive 

 the ears of those in pursuit of them, but I have relied only upon 

 my eyes to capture all the specimens taken by me. The large, 

 handsome insect in Fig. 26 is a more or less abundant species in 

 the summer time in many localities. Children call it a "knicker," 

 from the contrivance it has for springing or snapping up, when 

 placed upon its back. In science we call it Alaus ocelata, the 

 more respectable name, I think, and fully as descriptive. 



Tree-toads subsist largely upon various kinds of insects that 



