Field Guide to the Natural World of Washington, D.C. by Howard Youth

Author:Howard Youth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2014-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

KEY POINTS

• Bullfrogs breed from April well into the summer.

• Listen for the males’ low “jug-o-rum” call, which differs from the banjo-like twang of the smaller green frog.

• Females lay 10,000 to almost 30,000 eggs among wetland vegetation, and tadpoles may take up to two years to metamorphose into frogs.

Plate 21

BULLFROG

Spring Peeper: Pseudacris crucifer

ETYMOLOGY

Pseudacris: Greek for false locust (for sounds); crucifer: Latin for cross-bearer for back pattern

Description Though often heard, this small frog is rarely seen. The body color may be tan to gray, but all individuals are marked with a distinctive X-like cross on the back. A dark bar runs between the eyes. Spring peepers are white to cream below. During breeding season, males can be told from females by their dark throats. Peepers’ high-pitched, somewhat cricket-like peeps can be heard at a time when few or no insects are sounding off—on warmer late winter and early spring evenings. Choruses of these frogs take place along wetland edges and in swamps and even in the city can be heard from at least several hundred yards away.

Size Spring peepers rarely exceed 1 inch in head and body length.

Common Locations Listen for spring peeper choruses in Rock Creek Park, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, the C&O Canal National Historical Park, and other places with low, wet areas and forest. Armed with patience and a good flashlight, the intrepid night observer may spot a few of these tiny frogs at their breeding pools. (Check with park staff before making any night wanderings.)

Notes of Interest Spring peepers spend much of their year in the forest but congregate in wetlands for breeding.

Ecological Role Spring peepers catch beetles, flies, ants, spiders, and other small invertebrates, while keeping an eye out for their own predators, including bullfrogs, water snakes, and herons.

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