Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Frog and toad

Out of town recently, I ran into a couple of amphibians I don’t see often. This is the northern leopard frog, Rana pipiens, seen amidst its bullish and greeny brethren along the side of a road in Haverhill, MA. UPDATE 6/14: see the comments for discussion of this frog, which is probably a green frog after all.This American toad, Bufo americanus, was also spotted in Haverhill, but at night, on the lawn. Caught here with flash as it scampered up a tree. (May last year at Doodletown we saw all the toad tadpoles.)

All around us we heard tree frogs.

mthew

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3 responses to “Frog and toad”

  1. TGIQ

    I think your “leopard frog” is actually a green frog…they can be quite spotted: http://www.ohioamphibians.com/frogs/green_frog.html Lovely critter regardless!

    Reply
    1. mthew

      Thanks, TGIQ. (I appreciate challenges to my IDs. ) You may be right: The tympanum here is very large, like on a green frog.

      Reply
      1. TGIQ

        The size of the tympanum is actually a sex-based characteristic. The frog in your photo is a male, since the tympanum is larger than the eye; if it was a female it would be smaller than the eye. 🙂

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