Identification: This terrestrial frog is usually colored light tan to dark brown, but can be pink, tan, or even nearly black. Wood Frogs have a very conspicuous dark mask around their eyes that abruptly ends behind the eardrums. They will also have a light stripe on the upper jaw, and some have a light line down the middle of their back. Wood Frogs usually also have a prominent ridge on their back (a dorsolateral ridge) and two dark blotches on their check. They have white bellys and may have colored speckles on their bodies. The toes are not completely webbed. The Wood Frog makes sounds resembling a series of short, hoarse "quacks."
Location: Wood frogs are found throughout the northeastern US, as well as north to Canada and Alaska, with a southern border of northern Georgia, and east to Tennessee and Kentucky. This is the only North American frog which is found north of the Arctic Circle.
Habitat: Rana sylvatica are found in all types of forest and woodland areas. Adult wood frogs tend to prefer heavily forested areas with a large coverage of vegetation. These frogs must use temporary wetlands (usually vernal pools, but they can also use swamps, ponds, temporary puddles, etc.) to breed. They will use these pools to breed for one night a year, and then spend the rest of the year in the surrounding woodlands.
Reproduction: Wood frogs will emerge quickly from hibernation and travel to their breeding pools. Their mating call is a "quacking" sound that is often confused with a duck's call. Eggs are usually laid in large clumps by many different frogs. The egg masses commonly have a bluish color and are found attached to small sticks, partially submerged under the water. The tadpoles will usually hatch by late May/early June where most will be eaten by snakes and other predators. The few that do survive will usually complete their metamorphosis by August.
 Wood Frogs in Amplexus |
 Wood Frog Hatchlings |
 Another possible Wood Frog Coloration | |
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