spring and summer nights the loud choruses produced by the croaking, especially of the Common Indian Toad, the Malayan Bull-frog and the Paddy Frog, are a familiar sound. The Malayan Bull-frog, beautifully marked with yellowish and dark brown, inflates itself like a balloon and floats on the surface of the water, producing a very loud, deep, guttural sound. It feeds on insects and is particularly fond of termites. The only tailed species is the Chinese Newt which occurs on Hong Kong Island and the mainland in certain hill-streams at elevations upwards from about 1,000 feet.
Butterflies and Moths
The attractive butterflies known popularly by their family name as 'swallow-tails' are conspicuously represented in Hong Kong by a variety of species. This family is predominantly tropical in distribution and contains some of the most beautiful of all insects. They may be recognised in the field by their relatively large size, rapid wing-beats, swift flight and their 'tails', though the latter are not invariably present.
The magnificent Atlas Moth, with a wing-span from about seven to nine inches and among the largest insects in the world, is to be found in Hong Kong. In colouration it is mostly brownish, the various colours and shades being arranged so as to produce the effect of a Persian carpet. Another very fine species occurring in the Colony is the Moon Moth, with a wing-span from about four to six inches and of a soft silvery green colour with pale pinkish-brown markings. This moth is 'swallow-tailed', the tails of the female being slightly twisted and spatulate, whilst those of the male are not so, but are bright orange to red in colour.
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