Spring weather settling-in across Missouri triggers breeding activities for many frogs. This week on Discover Nature, we’ll learn about the Boreal Chorus Frog.
Listen in prairies, and along the grassy edges of marshes and farm ponds, for these small gray or tan frogs – three-quarters to one-and-a-half inches long – with three wide stripes down the back. They begin breeding in late February, with their raspy, vibrating call peaking in mid-April – a sound similar to running a fingernail over the teeth of a pocket comb.
Long called ‘Western Chorus Frogs,’ scientists have recently discovered these frogs in Missouri belong to a separate species – now designated as Boreal Chorus Frogs.
These frogs feed on and help control populations of many insects, and are also very sensitive to pollutants – making their presence and populations an indicator of the health of their ecosystem.
Discover Nature is a production of the Missouri Department of Conservation.