Wild Wednesday: Wood Frog

The wood frog can be found across much of Canada, the Great Lakes Region, and the Appalachians. Researchers are interested in them because of their freeze tolerance and because of their reliance on vernal pools. Their top sides range from tan to rusty brown, with pale undersides and dark eye masks. Females are larger than males, and both are 2-3 inches long when fully grown. Wood Frogs have no close look-alikes in North America.

Wood frogs, along with spring peepers, are some of the first frogs to emerge in the spring after the snow melts. They have loud, rattling, duck-like calls. They can range over hundreds of meters, making them some of the furthest-moving frogs. Although the tadpoles are omnivorous and will eat algae or other inhabitants of vernal pools, the adults survive on invertebrates that live on the forest floor.