Species

Green frog

Lithobates clamitans

A common pond frog whose call sounds like a loose banjo string being plucked.

Photo Alex Stach (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Communication

At a glance

Size: About 5 to 10 cm long
Habitat: Ponds, streams, springs, ditches and swamps
Diet: Insects, spiders, crayfish, snails and small frogs
In Georgia: Common statewide; bronze-coloured in the south
Voice: A single, twangy "gunk" like a plucked banjo string
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Green to bronze; ridges running from behind the eye down the back; males have yellow throats
Told apart from: American bullfrog, whose ridge curves around the eardrum and does not run down the back
Where to look: At the edge of any pond or stream, leaping in with a squeak

Behaviour

Green frogs sit at water's edge and leap in when disturbed, often with a short squeak. Males defend patches of shoreline in summer.

Why they matter

They are among the most common frogs in Georgia and food for herons, snakes and raccoons.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Eggs — Several thousand in a floating film
Hatching — In a few days
Tadpoles — Change into frogs in the same season or the next
Maturity — In one to two years
Lifespan — Several years
Calling — On summer nights

Living around people

Ponds without fish, with plants at the edges, are good for frogs.

Misconceptions

Every green frog is a bullfrog. Look for the ridges down the back.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Under water	Under water	Emerging	Active	Calling	Breeding	Breeding	Young frogs	Feeding	Active on warm days	Under water	Under water

Where it lives

Recorded in 43 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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