Species
Southern chorus frog
Pseudacris nigrita
A small, spotted chorus frog of south Georgia whose trill rings from winter ditches.
Photo Ty Smith (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY-NC 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 2 to 3 cm long
- Habitat
- Pine flatwoods, ditches and shallow, temporary ponds
- Diet
- Small insects
- In Georgia
- The Coastal Plain
- Voice
- A rapid, mechanical trill
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Small, grey with rows of dark spots down the back; white upper lip
- Told apart from
- Upland chorus frog, which has stripes rather than rows of spots
- Where to look
- Heard from ditches and flooded fields in winter
Behaviour
It breeds in winter in shallow, temporary water in pine woods.
Why they matter
It depends on seasonal wetlands in the southern pinelands.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Small clusters on submerged plants
Hatching — In a week or two
Tadpoles — Change into frogs in about 6 to 8 weeks
Maturity — Within a year
Lifespan — A few years
Calling — In winter
Living around people
- Roadside ditches with water in winter are breeding places for it.
Misconceptions
- A trill in a winter ditch is an insect. It is often this frog.
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.
| 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 | Breeding | Breeding | Breeding | Young frogs | On land | On land | On land | On land | On land | On land | Calling on wet nights | Breeding |
Where it lives
Recorded in 7 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
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