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Spring Peeper — Part 3
If we do capture them, and keep them under glass for a few days or weeks, we shall find them very interesting. They are small, measuring one inch or less. They are very slender and delicate, and unusually alert looking. The rhythmic throat movement is rapid, more rapid than that of even the land Wood Frog. The elevated eyes have the usual golden rim, whose iridescent color may be so deep as to seem almost orange in tone. The body is flexible; there seems to be much more movement in the neck region than is usual among the frogs. The skin is soft and moist and closely granular underneath. The disks on the fingers and toes are distinct, but not conspicuously large as in the Common Tree Frog. The webs of the hind feet extend less than half the length of the toes.
The colour is usually light yellowish brown, but there is a great range for variation, and the changes are relatively rapid. Within an hour, frogs that were pale greyish yellow may become dark wood-brown. Sometimes the brown is reddish or salmon in tone. There are definite markings, which can be distinguished unless the background is extremely dark. These are, first and foremost, an oblique cross on the back, and transverse bars on the hind legs. There is also a V-shaped mark between the eyes, a similar mark, reversed, on the back posterior to the cross, and a short line extending lengthwise at each side of the cross. The underparts are yellowish white, more or less mottled with brown. The undersurfaces of the legs may be yellow. The male is likely to be considerably smaller than the female, and is usually darker in colour.
Pickering's Tree Frogs thrive well in a small moss-garden. They may be kept successfully, even all winter. They rest or sleep much of the day under the moss, or, perhaps, exposed on some plant. (Fig. 171.) They sing often, especially in the late afternoons and on rainy days, but usually from under cover of moss and leaves. (Fig. 172.) They eat small worms and flies greedily. They climb up the glass sides of their houses, alternating several rapid steps with relatively long pauses. They never seem to climb downward; jumping is easier. They never attempt to escape; their small garden with food and companions is a whole world to them.
The time of the chorus of Spring Peepers extends from early March until May, and often until the second or third week of May. It may have brief interruptions, due to snow and severe cold, although Pickering's Hyla often sings when the temperature is below 50 deg. F. The chorus begins when the pussywillows are grey and the blue violets of the marsh are just opening. It ends when the pussy-willows are scattering feathery seeds and the violets have longstemmed leaves and flowers strugling for light through surrounding rank growths of fern, hellebore, and skunk-cabbage.
The season of their chorus closes at about the time that the Common Tree Frog chorus begins. Sometimes for two weeks or more we may hear their voices together from the same or adjacent swamps.
The season of the chorus begins in February or March; not many of the eggs are laid (May 15, 1892. Hyla pickeringii. O. P. Hay, Irvington, Ind.
April 6, April 17. Hyla pickeringii. F. W. Putnam, Cambridge, Mass.
April 25, 1904. Hyla pickeringii. M. C. Dickerson, Providence, R.I.
March 9, 10, 13, and April 5, 1890. Hyla pickeringii. T.H. Morgan, Baltimore, Md.) until April. The eggs are generally fastened singly to plants in the water, although they sometimes lie free at the bottom, and are sometimes in small masses (4 to 10). They may be laid singly or in small groups by frogs in captivity. They are exceedingly small (1-12 inch in diameter), so small that they look like tiny plant seeds. Each is surrounded by a viscid substance and a distinct outer membrane. The egg is deep brown above and cream-white below when first laid, but becomes light grey in the early stages of development.
The tadpoles hatch in from six to twelve days, depending on the temperature. In less than a week after hatching, the gills are covered and the usual "pollywog" form is assumed. In seven or eight weeks from the time that the eggs are laid, the tadpoles (The mouth structure of the tadpole of the Pickering's Hyla is like that of the tadpoles of Hyla versicolor (see footnote, p.121), except that the lower lip has only two rows of teeth, instead of three.) are full-grown. They are small and delicate. Each measures one inch long, including the tail, which is twice the length of head and body together. The undersurface of the body is reddish bronze, shining with metallic lustre. The characteristics of the head of the adult frog can be seen in the tadpole even before the front legs appear; that is, the eyes are set extremely wide apart, the lines between the eyes and the nostrils are sharply angled, and the upper jaw projects beyond the lower. The toes of the back legs are provided with distinct pads before the front legs appear. The cross on the back often shows before the tail begins to be absorbed.