**Nature Nugget**

Spring here on the coastside can be a noisy season- full of chirps, and buzzing and frog calls. Many of you Coastside residents have become very familiar with the sound of the Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla). These frogs are also known as Pacific chorus frogs, and they live up to this name, as anyone who has been near a breeding pond can attest to. Their sounds are shared amongst themselves as a “language” that organizes breeding, with several distinct calls including the familiar “ribit,” each adapted to particular functions in attraction and rivalry.

These little frogs are unmistakable, with a conspicuous dark "mask" or eye stripe extending from the nostrils through the eye as far as the shoulder. They are small frogs, at approximately 5 centimeters in length, and have a rounded toe pad at the end of each digit. Their coloration includes shades of green, tan, grey, brown, reddish, or black - and can change colors over periods of weeks or even hours. Females are slightly larger than males, a feature common with many frogs. The presence of a vocal sack on the male throats can also help to identify the gender.

The Pacific Tree Frog ranges from British Columbia to Baja, Mexico, and eastward to Montana and Nevada. They are the west coast’s most prevalent and adaptable frog species. More resistant to pollution and habitat modification than others, they will breed in almost any kind of fresh water, including seasonal puddles. These frogs eat a wide variety of arthropods, including spiders, flies, beetles, ants and other insects, and they can expand their bodies to eat prey that is almost as large as they are.