42 Aquatic Life 
posed to strong light for some time, he 
may become almost perfectly smooth. 
The skin is usually very loose, and forms 
many folds, making the tree toad appear 
as if “his clothes did not fit him.” ‘The 
abdomen is evenly granular, the throat 
much wrinkled, and in the male dark 
gray or black. 
Hyla pickeringii 
The Spring Peeper 
Photograph from life by D. Franklin 
The male, when giving voice to its call, 
can distend this throat pouch until it is 
larger than his head. His voice 1s loud, 
high-pitched, and strongly trilled, and 
often resembles the bleat of a very young 
kid. Aside from the songs of birds, 
there is, to the writer’s mind, hardly a 
more cheerful sound in nature, so full of 
happiness and utter contentment it seems. 
In May, when the woods are beautiful 
in their new spring hues, and the cherry 
trees are in bloom, the tree toad wanders 
to the nearest pond, the males arriving 
first. In the afternoon they start their 
calls, sometimes in the high grass and 
weeds, still some distance from the pond. 
The chorus at the pond becomes stronger 
when rain is threatening, and other tree 
toads still in the trees, will answer those 
at the pond. Breeding operations begin 
in late May or early June, and are usually 
over by July—dependent on the weather. 
The eggs are laid in small packets of 
from six to twenty each, surrounded by 
small quantities of foam. ‘They float at 
the surface of the water, usually gather- 
ing around a protruding stick, leaf or 
grass-stem. 
FHyla versicolor prefers ponds contain- 
ing pond lilies, pickerel weed and floating 
plants. From 1000 to 2000 eggs are laid 
by one female. The eggs hatch in from 
two to five days, and the tadpoles trans- 
form into perfect baby tree toads after 
55 to 65 days. The color of the tadpole 
is dark olive green, usually with a red- 
dish golden tinge near the head. The 
belly is white with golden iridiscence. 
The base of the tail is colored like the 
body, the remainder .to the tip being 
orange or vermilion red, with black spots. 
Like all tadpoles, they have many ene- 
mies, such as the back swimmers ( Noto- 
necta), the large diving beetle (Dytiscus ) 
and the larger dragonfly larvee. Leeches 
will also attach themselves to these help- 
less creatures, sucking their blood. Fishes 
eat them, as do many birds, particularly 
ducks. 
The perfectly formed baby frogs are 
large, considering the size of the adult, 
which is two inches. They are from 
five-eighths to three-quarters inch long, 
from snout to vent, and at first pea green 
in color; they do not assume the gray 
tints until some time after leaving the 
pond. Their chief food is mosquitoes, 
small spiders, flies and plant lice. 
Like most species of tree toads, our 
little friend has the sense of locality 
strongly developed. I have found indi- 
viduals in the same spot day after day 
for many weeks. I have left the cover 
of the vivarium open time and again, and 
although the tree toads would wander at 
night over the plants surrounding their 
cage, in the morning I would, with rare 
exceptions, find them tucked in the vari- 
ous corners of their homes. Three or 
