Species Name: Common Frog - Rana temporaria

How to recognise

When this amphibian is first spotted, you may be unsure whether you have found a frog or a toad, but there are some very distinctive characteristics which enable you to tell them apart. Frogs have more slender bodies, smooth skin and jump or hop, whereas toads have more bulbous bodies, dry warty skin and tend to crawl. Frogs have longer hind legs with webbed feet which give them the ability to jump long distances and swim extremely well.

Common frogs have a distinctive brown patch behind their brick-red eye. Their skin colour may vary from grey, green and yellow to shades of brown. The underside is white or yellow – sometimes orange in the females – covered with brown or orange speckles. Common toads can lighten or darken their skin colour to match their environment.

There are also differences between the frog and toad tadpoles. When first hatched, the frog tadpole is black but it will soon become faintly speckled with gold, compared with the permanently black tadpole of the toad.

Where to see

Frogs are frequent visitors to gardens. During the breeding season they favour small ponds, even puddles, to lay their frogspawn but they will visit larger waterbodies such as the Broads. Frogs are predominantly terrestrial, returning to water primarily to breed. Frogs breathe through their skin as well as their lungs, so it is important that their skin remains moist. Therefore, outside the breeding season, frogs favour damp habitats such as woodlands, hedgerows, fields and gardens where they can keep their skin moist. Being able to breathe through their skins means they can hibernate in mud or piles of rotting leaves at the bottom of a pond.

When to see

During February and March frogs begin to emerge from their hibernation sites and move to their breeding grounds. By April, once breeding is complete, adult frogs disperse from ponds to live on land where they will feed on slugs, worms and other invertebrates. After 14 days or more, the embryos, which are surrounded by a clear jelly-like substance, develop into tadpoles. Initially the tadpoles feed on the jelly but, as they grow, they begin to eat algae. By about three months, the tadpoles have developed into froglets, having grown hind legs, followed by fore legs and then eventually absorbing the tail. During June and July the young frogs leave the pond, seeking cover in vegetation. By mid-October frogs begin to hibernate.

Conservation status in Norfolk

Declining. Although called the common frog, this species has been declining in many areas. The common frog is eaten by many predators including foxes, herons, otters and bitterns. Frogs have been suffering from a disease known as ‘redleg’, so called because one of the symptoms the frog develops is lesions on the hind legs and underside which gives the legs a red appearance. The infection is extremely contagious among frogs and can lead to large numbers of frogs dying.

How to help

Create a pond in your garden. Ensure the pond is not shaded by trees, has a good mix of native pond plants and has at least one edge which shelves gradually to allow easy access. 

Did you know?

There are only seven native amphibians (this includes the reintroduced pool frog) in Britain and the common frog is probably the best known and commonest.  Frogs are now spawning earlier in the year than previously and this is thought to be one indicator of climate change.

Finding out more

Froglife
The Herpetological Conservation Trust

Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists Society

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