Frogs provide the Spring Chorus for all to hear

By Al Lowe
Contributor

About this time of year, the froggy spring chorus is going strong. This is a night-time chorus, usually starting in the evening, and quieting down as dawn breaks.
There are several participants, in much of Ontario. Some are very high, some are deep and low, and some quack like ducks.
One of the high-pitched ones is the Spring Peeper, Hyla crucifera, so named because it has a mark on its back shaped like a cross. This is one of the very few tree frogs found in the northern part of this continent. It is grayish green or brown, and the cross mark easily identifies it. Its voice is a series of steady, high peeps. Usually a lot of Peepers sing together near swamps or marshes.
Another high-pitched one is the chorus frog (Pseudoacris triseriata). His song is much like that of the Peeper, but with a longer trill.
The common frog which you will see in your garden or along the road, is the Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens). This one is brown or green , with lots of dark spots. Its voice, quite loud, is low-pitched - a trill lasting several seconds. Incidentally, this is the common frog of the high school biology class. Another one, very much like it, is the Pickerel Frog (Rana palustris). It has its spots squared off and the underside of its thighs are yellow or orange. Another long low thriller.
Then there are the quackers. The Mink Frog (Rana septentrialis) is something of a loner, but always near the water. The Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica) doesn’t need to be near the water at all. It doesn’t even go into the water to hibernate, but crawls under a log or a rock. These are the two which make the sharp barking or quacking sounds you hear.
And of course, we must include the Bullfrog (Rana castebiana). This is the frog which grows to such a very large size in the south, and which is mainly responsible for that great delicacy, frogs’ legs. It is found near deep water, and that bass voice saying ‘jug-o-rum’ is familiar to anyone who has ever listened to the spring chorus.
Frogs are not the only members of this musical family. We have two toads who also contribute. The American Toad (Bufo americanus) is the common toad of your backyard. It has a high pitched trill lasting up to 20 seconds. The other one is the Canadian Toad (Bufo hemisphrys) which is very similar in appearance. But he sings lower, and with a much shorter trill.
All of these songs take place in the spring. The purpose of the singing - as with the songs of birds - is reproduction. They are mating songs. Some go on intermittently all summer, but most last for only a few weeks in the spring. Anyway, that’s where those early spring songs come from - our frogs and toads - nine in all. They are surely welcome, to tell us that spring is finally here.
“A frog he would a wooing go, MMM-Hmm”