The habits of the Grass-frog are essentially terrestrial. It spends most of its time on land, preferably in damp places, but local fashion permits of a great deal of freedom, as these frogs are sometimes found not only in very wet, naturally irrigated places, but also in the water itself. However, the Grass-frog when pursued rarely takes to the water for safety. It trusts to flight, first by a few long and fast jumps, and then to concealment by squatting down between grass, under leaves; it rarely creeps into a hole, even if there be one near. The jumps soon become shorter and shorter after a few dozen repetitions. It swims well, but cannot climb. The food, which consists chiefly of insects, snails, and worms, must be moving to excite interest; then the frog, whose favourite position is half squatting, half supported by the arms, erects itself, and, facing the insect, turns round upon its haunches, adjusts its position anew by a shifting of the legs, and betrays its mental agitation by a few rapid movements of the throat. All this time the prey is watched intently until it moves; then there follows a jump, a flap of the tongue and the insect is seen no more. As a rule these frogs do not crawl, they jump or hop, even whilst stalking, and this takes place at any time of the day; in fact they are very diurnal, although they become more active towards the evening. When caught they are at first very wild and, like all true frogs, very impetuous, committing acts of astonishing stupidity without any apparent sense or appreciation of distance or height. The captive will not only jump off the table, whilst a toad stops at the edge and looks carefully down, but without hesitation he jumps out of the window, regardless of the height above the ground. This is due to sheer fright; he loses his head. When at large in his native surroundings, nothing will induce him, although hotly pursued, to commit suicide by jumping down a precipice. But all this wildness calms down wonderfully soon. The captive no longer dashes his head against the glass, he does not struggle or twist when taken up; on the contrary, he makes himself at home, watches your coming with intense expectation, and without hesitation accepts the proffered mealworm, maggot, butterfly or earthworm; in short, he shows what a jolly and intelligent fellow he really is.