May 30, 1903. J 
FORfiSt AND STREAM. 
42B 
could I discover, nor yet ih<f -..'/mains of the old one, 
which, no doubt, had been scattered to the winds long 
before the winter was past. I was about to turn 
away, but unconsciously, as I may say, reverting to a 
habit of youth, stood a moment to shake the tree, wheii 
I heard a flutter of wings. Looking in the directiori 
of this I saw, to my great astonishment, a bkiebird 
arise from its nest, which now, to me, was perfectly 
plain or discernible. Why I had not seen it before I 
could not understand. It reminded me of those puzzle 
pictures in which a face or something quite distinct in 
its outline is lost in a harmonious setting. 
I had not proceeded far on my walk when I observed 
a robin ' perched on the limb of an aged, weather- 
beaten fir tree, with something in its bill. I drew 
back to observe her (for it was a female), saying to 
myself that her nest would be in a leafy elm close by, 
but there's where I made the mistake. A minute or 
two after I had drawn back where I could not be seen 
by Mistress Robin, she made a little race along the 
limb of the scraggy pine and popped into her nest in 
the fork. There it was, matching the rusty gray bark 
to perfection. Somehow these experiences arou.sed in 
me a little of my old-time passion, and the evening be- 
ing inviting, I continued my walk down the peninsula 
— a part of the park which extends east from the water 
tower, and is, perhaps, more unfrequented than any 
other part. Certainly it is admirably adapted for nest- 
building, being thickly covered with trees and thickets. 
Here, then, I set about seriously to see whether I had 
lost all my old skill. But, will it be believed?— after 
an hour's patient hunt — peeping here, peering there, 
glancing everywhere — I was obliged to confess myself 
absohitely beaten: not a single nest had I found! Once 
again I asked myself the question: "Where do the 
birds build?" It was somewhat humiliating, but I had 
to admit that they build just in such places as I had 
been searching. And there was no doubt at all that 
I had overlooked many. Truly the motto of the birds 
in nest-building seems to be, Ars est celare artem. 
Which- may be freely translated thus: The greatest 
,.art is to conceal art. * 
Such birds as build large nests which cannot be con- 
(■cealed, build them well out of reach. A notable ex- 
(Ception to this claps of nest-builders is the osprey, 
.commonly called the fish-hawk. Though its nest can 
jbe seen a mile away, there is no attempt made at plac- 
[ing it high, at least systematically so. But woe be- 
(tide the venturous youth who conceives the idea of in- 
.specting the inside of it, whether from mere curiosity 
.r0.r with felonious intent. I was recently down in 
■ southern New Jersey, where fish-hawks are quite num- 
,erous, and I had brought to my notice the case of a 
youth such as I have referred to. I went to see him 
"and fonpid him in bed, if you please, with his chubby 
jhead swathed in bandages. At first he seemed disin- 
iclined to italk, but after I had bestowed a few bad 
, names on ■fish-hawks and told hirh a few of my own 
, early adventures, I won his sympathy and he opened 
{Up and gave me a graphic account of his experience. 
I shall make no attempt to reproduce his words, not 
ibeing skilled in the southern Jersey dialect. Suffice it 
;to say that ignoring the popular disapproval of any 
molestation or disturbance of the fish-hawk (which is 
almost as sacred as the buzzard) and ignoring, like- 
wise, the warnings of his elders as to the bird's de- 
fensive powers, the boy determined to make an inr 
spection of a nest which had excited his curiosity 
from childhood, a great big basket of a thing on the 
top of a blasted pine in the middle of a field. After 
reconnoitering, therefore, for a while, he found out 
when the owners were usually absent, and selecting his 
time (the hour after dawn — I pause a moment to picture 
him, in my imagination, as he emerges from the silent 
little frame cottage, stained and worn with half a century 
of rain and wind and sun. He gazes intently in the direc- 
tion of the well-known tree, and then across the sandy pine- 
lands, which the sun is just beginning to illumine. The 
- pines are black against the horizon, while shadows linger 
'here and there, but afar there is a glimpse of blue-gray 
.ocean with a fringe of white breakers on the shore, and 
3g ! as the boy gazes he sees the hawks winging their flight 
.tlVijther, His heart gives a great throb and then) he made 
a -d^sh for the tree and was up it in a jiffy. But when 
*'hfc reached the nest he found to his disgust that not only 
could ike not peep in, but he couldn't even reach his hand 
, over the side. 
A squ-cakihg of young birds inside only whetted 
ibis curiosity, so he promptly proceeded to demolish 
-the nest, or pull it apart as best he could. This proved 
foo easy job, and in his eagerness to get a glimpse of 
tthe fledglings, he lost his prudence (if, indeed, he had 
a-ny) and outstayed his time. He was busily engaged 
in tearing out sticks when he heard a rush of wings 
and then a series ,of angry cries, and then, as he ex- 
pressed it in his naive fashion, "I kinder thought a 
cyclone struck me!" Fortunately, he had presence of 
mind to cover his eyes with his left hand, while with 
his right he tried to defend himself. But what is a 
boy's bare hand against the beak and talons of an 
infuriated fish-hawk? Needless to say, in a little while 
he fell to the ground exhausted and bleeding. His 
cries, as well as those of the hawk, attracted the at- 
tention of a plowman, who was driving his team 
afield in the peaceful early morning. Seizing a breech- 
ing strap as the nearest thing at hand, he rushed to 
the rescue. By this time the other hawk had returned, 
and both birds valiantly attacked the plowman, but 
he beat them off sufficiently to enable him to raise the 
•prostrate boy and bear him to safety. After he had 
•been revived (for he was insensible when found) he 
\was taken home and put to bed, with lacerated head 
sind hands and a fractured leg in addition. 
When my hero had reached this point in his narra- 
tive he asked for a glass of water, and his kind old 
mother, who sat by, got up to fetch it. Taking advan- 
tage of her absence he pulled me down toward him and 
whispered: "Don't tell the old lady, but I'll get even 
with them pesky hawks yet!" 
He spoke with the grit of a true-born Yankee. 
However, I told him that "getting even," especially 
with birds, was all a mistake, "Besides," I added, "the 
hawks may get even with you,'- But I could see that 
he was not impressed. Alas, when did the words of 
wisdom or experience impress youth? 
In connection with the above story, a fact which I 
have obseryfed, occurs to me. It is this: If you dis- 
turb a bird while it is building, or even after it has 
laid its eggs, it will not show much concern and may 
even appear indifferent. Hying off to a distance or quite 
away; but let you disturb it after the young have made 
their appearance and then behold the demonst.ration 
of frenzied anxiety and fear you have occasioned. 
Perhaps the greatest demonstration of this kind I ever 
saw was occasioned not by a boy or a man, but by an 
owl. 
I was walking in the woods and heard a commotion 
among the leaves a short distance away — the loud 
tchick — tchicking of robins, and the louder twit-twiting 
of wood thrushes, with a shrill under chorus of lesser 
bird notes. Approaching the spot 1 descried Min- 
erva's bird perched on the limb of a tree. True to its 
character of wisdom, it appeared to be quite undis- 
turbed at the outcries- of the feathered mob about it. 
At sight of me, however, it took wing and softly dis- 
appeared in the dim aisles of the woods, with the mob 
howling at its heels, so to speak. 
It is certain that the small boy does not enjoy much 
popularity among the birds, but his unpopularity is as 
nothing compared to that of the owl. And the birds 
have reason, as the French say. For, as a despoiler, 
the boy is always more or less stupid and blundering, 
while he is often merciful, but the owl is at once 
subtle, unerring and pitiless. Save the helpless tribe 
of song^ers' from Minerva's pet. 
Francis Moonan. 
Our Batrachians and Reptiles — III. 
Having, in our last chapter, disposed of the tailed 
batrachians inhabiting the United States, we are now 
ready to turn to the tailless forms. These are well known 
to everyone, for frogs and toads are found everywhere 
except in the very driest and the very coldest regions. 
Some 800 species have been collected and named, and of 
these between fifty and sixty occur within our limits. 
They are all inoffensive animals and of the greatest value 
to the agriculturist, for they feed almost exclusively upon 
insects and are efficient aids in removing thousands of 
these j: . When caught they have the rather disagree- 
able \' defending themselves by discharging their 
urine, aiu- ,, is a common notion that this fluid is a pro- 
ducer oi.'vifijrls on the hands of those who are touched by 
it. Riij/ty ' .' experiments by the author and others have 
demonstr^>*J that th'"-. is a mistake, and, like niany other 
popular ideas must be relegated to the realm of super- 
stition. By zoolq^],ists the tailless batrachians are 
divided first into tvvp groups, according to the character 
of their breast bones, and these two groups are further 
SI bdivided by the characters fiy'nished by the teeth and 
fingers. However, as a discussion which would involve 
the dissection of numerous specimens would be out of 
place here, we may conveniently divide our American 
species into the three following groups: 
I. Toads, no teeth on the upper jaw. 
II. P'rogs, upper jaw with teeth, fingers not enlarged at 
the tips. 
III. Tree frogs, upper jaw with teeth, fingers and toes 
more or less enlarged at the tip to form a sticky adhesive 
disc. 
Of the first group we possess several species, but the 
common toad fir wart-toad Bufo lentiginosiis, being best 
known, will be described. It is an abundant animal in 
the whole of eastern North America, and extends its 
range toward the south and west as far as Montana, 
Arizona, and Mexico. It is quite variable in coloration; 
its back is usually grayish or olive-brown with irregular 
patches of dark brown, but specimens have been collected 
which were almost a uniform black or uniform brick red. 
Beneath the color is nearly the same as above, but of a 
much lighter tint. In size it may attain a length of body 
and head of five inches, but is usually smaller. The 
females are larger than the males. The habits of the toad 
are mostlj' nocturnal, although it is not uncommon to 
see one hopping about in the da3rtime. Usually, however, 
it hides away in some hole or obscure corner and comes 
forth at evening to seek its food. This consists almost 
wholly of insects, and such great quantities are devoured 
that intelligent gardeners and farmers seek to induce the 
little animal to take up its residence on their grounds. 
One full grown toad Avas once seen to eat at one time 
twenty-three squash bugs, and a little later ninety-four 
caterpillars. The prey was taken by suddenly extending 
the tongue from the mouth and then as suddenly drawing 
it back with the insect adhering to it. In its efforts to 
swallow some unusually large morsel or keep down some 
obstreperous worm, the toad performs some curious acts 
which seem ludicrouslj^ intelligent ; such as pushing a bite 
down its throat with its hands or some convenient stone, 
or rubbing its stomach to make its dinner lie well. 
It spends the winter season buried in the mud or in 
some hole, but it emerges early in the spring and the loud, 
trilling love song of the male is one of the surest signg 
of the approach of warm weather. It very quickly seeks 
the water, where a mate is found. The eggs are deposited, 
not in a mass, as are those of the frogs, but in long 
strings consisting of a double line of eggs inclosed in a 
tube of gelatinous matter. Two such strings contained 
8,840 and 2,200 eggs respectively. The tadpoles are nearly 
black and hatch very early. The metamorphosis occurs 
near the middle of July, the young toads af that time 
being about half an inch long. 
From the wart-like excrescence of the toad there ex- 
udes a thick whitish fluid which is very acrid and serves 
to protect the animal against its enemies. It is said that 
this secretion will make a dog's mouth soi-e and will even 
cause inflammation of the human skin, but the writer, 
who has handled hundreds of the animals, has never ob- 
served the latter to be true. The .skin of the toad is shed 
from time to time, and many observers state that this 
skin is at once rolled up and swallowed by its former 
wearer. Numerous stories have appeared from time to 
time describing the finding of toads sealed up in solid 
rock or buried in some hollow tree, where they must have 
remained torpid for an indefinite period. There is every 
reason to doubt these tales, for experiment has shown 
that when deprived of food and air the animal very 
quickly dies. Dr. J, A. Allen, however, has described the 
finding of some toads at the bottom of an old well, where 
they had probably remained for ten or fifteen years at 
least. They were torpid, but being taken out they soon 
recovered and hopped away. 
Veiy much like the toad in appearance, but differing 
from it in having teeth in the upper jaw, and the pupil 
vertical instead of horizontal, are several species which 
may be called burrowing toads or frogs. The distribution 
of these is very poorly known, as they apparently spend 
most of their existence underground, coming to the sur- 
face only at long intervals to lay their eggs. They are 
also strictly nocturnal, and next to nothing is known of 
their habits. The single species of this curious group 
Avhich occurs in the eastern United States is known as 
the spade-foot frog, Scaphiopus holbrooki. Both names 
refer to the peculiar flattened spur with which the 
extremities are armed, and which is used by the animal 
in digging its tunnels. It is most interesting because of 
its ability to utter loud cries, which are, according to 
several observers, second in volume only to a steam whis- 
tle. Dr. E. D. Cope, who has written more extensively 
than any other author on American batrachians and rep- 
tiles, in speaking of this species, says: "Though so wide- 
ly distributed, it is seldom seen. After rains in spring 
and summer its cries may be heard at night, proceeding 
always, so far as my experience goes, from temporary 
pools. I have observed it twice in Pennsylvania, twice in 
New Jersey, and once in Massachusetts on the main land 
opposite Martha's Vineyard. Specimens from the latter 
locality, which I kept in a vivarium, buried themselves in 
the earth by day, but issued at nightfall and indus- 
triously explored their surroundings. Their burrows 
were concealed by the loose earth, which fell into and 
tilled them, but below this the bony top of the head could 
always be found. Frequently one eye projected from the 
debris, presenting with its brassy colored iris a most 
singular appearance. On being irritated with a hard ob- 
ject they utter a clattering note entirely unlike that of the 
breeding season." 
Of the true frogs we have about a dozen species, but 
this number is apparently greater from the fact that 
several species are extremely variable and present a num- 
ber of varietal or sub-specific forms in different parts of 
the country which thej^ inhabit. The best known frog in 
the United States is the leopard frog, Rana pipiens. Its 
range extends from Maine to Oregon, New Mexico, and 
Florida, a larger territory, perhaps, than is covered by 
any other batrachian. In most localities it is plentiful, 
and it is often used as food. In color and form it is quite 
variable, but as yet no satisfactory explanation of the 
variations has been put forward. In general the color 
above is ashy, olive, or bright green; below, uniform 
white or yellowish. On the back and sides are numerous 
rounded or oval brown spots of small or medium size, 
usually bordered with yellowish. The spots on the back 
are larger than those on the sides and are often arranged 
in two or three irregular rows. The dorso-lateral folds, 
ridges of skin lying one on each side of the back, are con- 
spicuous in this species and are usually of a lighter color 
than the neighboring skin. The upper surfaces of the 
limbs are more or less barred and spotted. A full grown 
specimen may measure four inches from tip of nose to 
end of body, or have a total length of about eight 
inches. 
The habits of the leopard frog are quite as interesting 
as those of the toad. Its favorite home is the .margin of 
some quiet pond or stream where the grass runs down to the 
Fig. 1 — Outline drawing of tlie Northern Frog — Rana sepientrionalts. 
