Frogs abound of all sizes, living in marshes, some on dry ground, and
others inhabitants of trees--many with voices which resound loudly
through the midnight air. Toads, too, are numerous, some of enormous
size. They may be seen on bare, sandy places--huge fellows, seven
inches in length and three in height--crawling over the ground, utterly
indifferent to the appearance of a stranger among them.
Among the frogs is the curious tingeing frog (Hylaplesia tinctoria),
which is an inhabitant of the forest. It may be seen during the day
crawling along the branches, but at night it takes up its abode under
the loose bark. Except during the breeding season, it seldom visits the
water. It then, like the rest of its species, goes there for the
purpose of depositing its eggs. It is generally of a dark colour--
sometimes quite black--with a white spot on the head and two white lines
running along each side.
It gains its name from the use the Indians are said to make of it. They
employ it as they do the parrot-fish, to give a different colour to the
plumage of their parrots. To do this they pull out the feathers from
the spots to which they wish to impart a new tint, and then rub the
blood of the frog into the wounded skin. When the new feathers grow,
they are said to be of a bright yellow or vermilion hue.
The bi-coloured tree-frog (Phyllomedusa bicolour) is of considerable
size, and is the only one of its family at present known. The upper
part of the body is of the deepest azure-blue, while the under parts are
of a pure white, sometimes of a rosy tinge. The thighs and sides are
spotted with the same tinge as the abdomen.
Darwin found a curious little toad, the Phryniscus nigricans, on the dry
sandy soil of the Pampas, "which looked," he says, "as if it had been
steeped in the blackest ink, and then, when dry, allowed to crawl over a
board freshly painted with the brightest vermilion."
Instead of being nocturnal in its habits, as other toads are, and living
in obscure recesses, it crawls about over dry hillocks and arid plains
during the day, where not a single drop of water can be found. It
depends on the dew for its moisture, which is probably absorbed by the
skin. The creature seems to dread water, and is utterly unable to swim.