Spring Peepers

It’s that time in Appalachia when we are greeted with the breeding calls of our frogs and toads. Yesterday it was near 80 degrees! As the rains arrived, the calls of the Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) were celebrating one of the warmest days of 2006. The above photo is of a spring peeper photographed as it was calling for its mate. The males of the species are the ones who are responsible for “yelling” to attract a female. I will need to discuss the process of amplexus (the mating behavior in frogs and toads) in a later posting.

One of the joys of teaching Vertebrate Zoology was the sense of accomplishment obvious on the faces of the students when they succeeded in learning and vocalizing all the calls of the WV amphibian species. Field trips reinforced our vocal and observational skills. It is so easy to distinguish between one frog/toad species quite unlike our ornithology friends where the specific calls of our feathered beasts can be extremely difficult.

Last night as I was driving back to Glenville, the wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) were hopping across the wet road surface. It is the wood frogs and the spring peepers that are a few of the earliest critters to welcome in the spring season.

The photos below illustrate a couple of the amphibians that will be calling later in the spring. The American toad (Bufo americanus) is distinguished by it’s long trill-like call and the Green Frog (Rana clamitans) is characterized by its banjo-like call.