This morning, she was delighted to find several green frogs at the pond. (These are now sharing their pond with a large influx of tadpoles relocated here from the pasture puddle)Green is a bit of a misnomer, since they can be bronze, brown, or even a blue-ish tint as well as green, but typically the upper lip is green.
These are a large frog with large, distinct tympani (eardrums) and two prominent dorsolateral folds (folds of skin that run partly down the back). The belly is white with darker lines or spots and occasionally has a yellow tinge. The hind legs have dark banding, and there may be irregular spotting on the back. Males have a bright yellow throat and tympani that are noticeably larger than the eye. In females, the tympani are about the same size as the eyes. The maximum reported size of an adult green frog is 10.8 centimetres. The call of this species is either a single staccato “gunk!” like the sound of a loose banjo string or a single call with several less vigorous repeats: “GUNK, gunk-gunk-gunk …” Listen to the call of green frog (courtesy of Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Programme).
It is good to know your frogs. We don't have nearly as many of them as we used to -- anywhere, so it is more than time that we got to know them, and started taking better care of their environment.
Of course, an essential part of frog-hunting, if you are Taffy, is that you emerge from the swamp covered with as much mud as you can possibly collect.
Which means a side trip to the lake, for some water-stick retrieving until the paws are again "house-worthy".
Nice capture of the frog!
ReplyDeleteTaffy seems to always be having fun!