Cambridge, Mass.
1908
July 4
  Partly cloudy with thunder showers in afternoon.
Oppressively hot.
  The birds bathe often during such weather as this
and the little artificial pond in front of the Museum
is much resorted to by them. When I looked out my
door at it this noon there was a Robin standing in
the shallow water, engaged in throwing it over his back,
and half a dozen House Sparrows perched on the 
stone coping near him. They seemed to be watching
him enviously yet to be afraid to enter the water
themselves. I was wondering at this when a slight
movement on the opposite shore caught my eye. It
was caused by a big Green Frog who, coming from
we know not where, appeared in the pond early in
May and has been living there ever since. He
entered the water quietly and sank beneath its surface.
Instantly the suspicion flashed across my mind
that he had designs on the bathing Robin and this
proved to be the case for he crossed the pond (a distance
of about feet) so deep under water that I could not
see him and on emerging sprang directly at the Robin
who eluded him with some difficulty and flew off,
evidently badly frightened. At the same instant the
House Sparrows took wing with loud cries of alarm.
I wondered if they could have foreseen the danger. It
is possible, of course that the Frog was merely
desirous of driving the birds away from the pond but
much more possible, in my opinion, that he tried
to surprise and seize the Robin & that had he been
able to catch and hold him that he would have eaten him.
A big Green Frog tries to seize a bathing Robin.