Pseudacris triseriata
Western Chorus Frog

Another early breeder is the Western Chorus Frog, distinguished by three dark lines running down its tan, gray, olive or light brown back. It also has a light line on its upper lip, but unlike the Wood Frog, has no dorsolateral folds. It also has slightly enlarged toe tips. 

This tiny amphibian is about 0.75 to 1.5 inches long (1.9 to 3.9 cm) but has a voice which can be heard for a half mile! Their breeding cry is "cr-rr-rr-ik" and can be imitated by running a finger over the fine tines of a pocket comb. Breeding in late March through April, each female lays from 500 to 1,500 eggs in discrete gelatinous packets of about 20 to 100. The packets are attached to underwater vegetation. In about three weeks, tadpoles hatch. The tadpoles are algae eaters which grow rapidly and transform to juvenile frogs in about six to eight weeks. 

After the breeding season, Western Chorus Frogs can sometimes be found under logs or boards away from the pond, but I was extremely surprised one day to find one three feet up in a prairie grass on a moist day after a rainstorm.


Species of Frogs and Toads of the Chicago Region

Northern Cricket Frogs
Acris crepitans blanchardi
American Toads
Bufo americanus
Fowler's Toads
Bufo woodhousii fowleri
Tree Frogs
Hyla versicolor complex
Spring Peepers
Pseudacris crucifer
Western Chorus Frogs
Pseudacris triseriata
Bullfrogs
Rana catesbeiana
Green Frogs
Rana clamitans
Pickeral Frogs
Rana palustris
Northern Leopard Frogs
Rana pipiens
Wood Frogs
Rana sylvatica
Plains Leopard Frogs
Rana blairi
Amphibian links . My homepage

Ellin Beltz ebeltz@ebeltz.net
October 26, 2008

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