SONGLESS BATRACHIANS. gl 



William Hamilton Gibson, in an article entitled 

 Autumn Whistlers, published in Harper's Young 

 People,* also quotes from John Burroughs the same 

 account of the red salamander's voice which I have 

 given in the accompanying footnote ; but he does 

 not cite any instance where he heard the voice and 

 saw the singer himself. 



In a letter contributed to Nature I find Professor 

 Eimer relates his experience connected with a lizard's 

 voice. He remarks that one which he observed on 

 the rocks of Capri had a peculiar voice which is 

 ascribed among reptiles to geckoes and chameleons 

 alone. This lizard, he says, made a peculiarly soft pip- 

 ing sound on being captured, and uttered repeatedly, 

 in quick succession, a series of very sharp tones sound- 

 ing like "Bschi," and reminding one of the hoarse 

 piping of a mouse or young bird. I suppose this liz- 

 ard must have been one of the same species which I 

 saw when wandering through the deserted streets of 

 the ancient city of Pompeii. There seemed to be a 

 lizard partly hidden in every nook and cranny of the 

 walls on either hand. Once in a while one scam- 

 pered with lifted tail across the rough pavement out 

 of my way. Upon capturing two or three, I found 

 they resented handling by squirming about and giv- 



* Also published in a volume entitled Sharp Eyes. 



