Adult frog eating tadpole, fighting frogs and toads, etc.
Posted: May 20th, 2017, 12:28 pm
Every couple weeks this spring I have been taking video at the same pond to document wood frogs from the mating season through egg and tadpole development, to metamorphosis and movement away from the pond. This is a small vernal pool in a forest. One day I noticed an adult male Green Frog sitting in the pond. A group of wood frog tadpoles slowly started swimming past it. Suddenly, it splashed under water and back up! Did I see what I thought I saw? I recorded for a few more minutes, and was able to get a clear video of the green frog catching and swallowing a wood frog tadpole. It also became clear that the Green Frog wasn't the perfect tadpole predator - quite a few tadpoles escaped its attacks.
Video of Male Green Frog eating Wood Frog Tadpoles:
I also had fun some nights watching spring peepers battling for territory. Here is an image of one male spring peeper chasing another away.
Aggressive spring peeper
by Mike Benard, on Flickr
Here is a video of the same aggressive male peeper going after some other peepers:
A video showing a spring peeper starting with the advertisement call (the "peep" to attract females), then switching to the encounter call ("trill" to chase off other males).
Image to tell apart male and female peepers (thumbs don't work, so look at throat in breeding season):
Telling apart male and female spring peepers
by Mike Benard, on Flickr
Some American Toad fights:
Calling male Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
I also have an older comparison of Gray Treefrog vs. Cope's Gray Treefrog.
Video of Male Green Frog eating Wood Frog Tadpoles:
I also had fun some nights watching spring peepers battling for territory. Here is an image of one male spring peeper chasing another away.
Aggressive spring peeper
by Mike Benard, on Flickr
Here is a video of the same aggressive male peeper going after some other peepers:
A video showing a spring peeper starting with the advertisement call (the "peep" to attract females), then switching to the encounter call ("trill" to chase off other males).
Image to tell apart male and female peepers (thumbs don't work, so look at throat in breeding season):
Telling apart male and female spring peepers
by Mike Benard, on Flickr
Some American Toad fights:
Calling male Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
I also have an older comparison of Gray Treefrog vs. Cope's Gray Treefrog.