Ranidae 



truth is, they are more or less active throughout the winter, if the 

 temperature is not too low. It is interesting to keep American 

 Toads and Green Frogs together under the same conditions, to 

 compare their hibernating habits. Even with the temperature at 

 60 F., the toads disappear early, and for weeks and months at a 

 time will not so much as come to the surface. The frogs scarcely 

 hibernate at all. They sit patiently in the water or on the moss, 

 or possibly in shallow burrows in the moss. They take worms and 

 small fish greedily all through the winter, whereas it is usually 

 difficult to get toads to eat before the arrival of spring. 



The eggs of the Green Frog are usually laid some time between 

 the last of March and the last of April. The eggs are larger than 

 those of the American Toad, and the jelly of the large mass (usu- 

 ally fastened to a twig or other support) is very firm, and 

 remains so during the early development. The egg clusters are 

 often laid during times of high water. Placed just below the sur- 

 face of the pond and attached to the twigs of buttonbush, alder 

 or other shrubs that are growing in the water, they are left some 

 distance above the surface when the water recedes. If this re- 

 ceding comes before they are several days old and the jelly- 

 mass considerably softened, here they continue to cling to 

 their supports and soon dry under the influence of sun and 

 wind. 



The early development of the Green Frog eggs is rapid. The 

 young embryos are light in colour and so may be distinguished 

 from those of the Wood Frog and of the Leopard Frog, although 

 easily confused with those of the Pickerel Frog. The tadpoles, 

 (Figs. 235 to 241), like those of the Common Bullfrog, may 

 live two years before the final metamorphosis. 2 It is not until the 

 second summer, and possibly until the third, that the change to 

 the frog form occurs. 



During almost any of the warm months of the year we may 

 find Green Frog tadpoles changing to the adults. The hind 

 legs grow rapidly, and may be conspicuously barred with dark 

 colour. The left arm appears first, thrusting itself out of the 

 breathing-pore. (Fig. 237.) Then the right one breaks through 

 the skin. The changes in mouth and eyes begin. The tail is slowly 



2 The mouth structure of the Green Frog tadpole is similar to that of the Bullfrog tadpole. 

 (See footnote, p. 235.) 



204 



