Handbook of Nature-Study · Lesson XLVI · Topic 4: Batrachian study: toads, frogs and newts
46. The tree-frog or tree-toad
Goal: Your child can recognize the spring peeper's call, describe its sticky toe pads and color, and explain how the tree-frog's color helps it hide.
You'll need
- A flashlight
- Waterproof boots
- A wet woodland pond, marsh or ditch in early spring
- A recording of spring peepers and gray treefrogs (optional)
- Nature notebook
What's in the book
The leading thought, the method (a moss garden with a little pond in a covered jar; look for frogs along a pond at night with a lantern; the spring peeper is the best species) and eleven questions about size and color, color change on light and dark surfaces, eyes, breathing and the throat, its peeping, how it climbs with its toe discs, nostrils and ears, jumping, eggs, tadpoles, and its use to us.
The lesson, step by step
When and where
Early spring, on mild evenings after a rain, when spring peepers sing in loud choruses from wet woods, marshes and ditches (late winter in the South). Gray treefrogs trill from trees in late spring and summer. Comstock says the lesson is usually given when a tree-frog is found by accident, so be ready.
Safety: an adult stays within arm's reach near any water, and keep off steep or slippery banks. Go out at night only with an adult and a flashlight.
Keep the big idea in mind
Read this to yourself:
The prettiest part of the spring chorus of the frog ponds is sung by the tree-frogs. These little frogs have the tips of their toes specially fitted for climbing up the sides of trees.
Listen to the chorus
Stand still at the edge of the pond after dark.
What is the tree-frog's note? At what time of day does it peep? At what time of year? Describe how the frog looks when peeping.
Peepers say one high "peep" over and over. Follow one call slowly with the flashlight and you may see the tiny frog with its throat puffed like a bubble.
Size and color
How large is the tree-frog? What is its color? Describe the markings.
The spring peeper is about as long as a thumbnail and has a dark X on its back.
Sticky toes
How does the tree-frog climb? When it is climbing up a vertical surface study its toes.
How do the toe-discs look when pressed against the glass?
If one sits on a window at night (treefrogs hunt insects at lit windows), look at its toes from inside.
Changing color
Comstock had children set a tree-frog on white paper, then on dark, and on bark, to see it change color. You can watch for the same thing outdoors: is the gray treefrog on bark gray, and on a leaf greenish?
How does this power of changing color benefit the tree-frog?
Amphibians breathe partly through their damp skin, so sunscreen, soap or bug spray on our hands can hurt them. If you must hold one, wet your clean hands first, hold it gently and low over the ground for a minute or two, then put it back where you found it. Wash your hands with soap afterward, and keep them away from eyes and mouth until you do.
Put it into words
Ask your child how a tree-frog is made for climbing and hiding. Then share the leading thought.
Nature notebook
Draw a peeper clinging to a twig, its toe pads large and round, its throat puffed out. Write the date you first heard peepers this year.
Afterwards
Note the first night you hear peepers each spring, and the last night of the chorus.
Tip
Comstock calls the peeper Pickering's hyla. Field guides today call it the spring peeper.