A CHORUS OF FROGS

It seems hard to believe, but signs of spring are present.  I saw daffodils blooming this week and robins are back.  An additional sign that spring is impending is the call of chorus frogs (Pseudacris).  Their call is a “rasping trill” and that is memorialized in their genus name.  “Psuedes” is Greek for false and “akris” refers to locust.  Don’t fool yourself.  These frogs are not singing in chorus to announce spring to we mortals.  Nope, the males are calling their hearts out to attract the ladies.  This is hazardous.  Calling males identify their location to predators.  Ah the risks taken to mate!  In this case, there is no copulation.  If a male is lucky, he will get to grab a female from behind, squeezing her, and hopefully she will release eggs that he can release sperm upon to fertilize.