Cajun and Spotted Chorus FrogsPseudacris fouquettei and Pseudacris clarkiiwith Squirrel Treefrog Hyla squirrela

The pine woodlands of east Texas are home to the Cajun Chorus Frog (Pseudacris fouquettei).  It is sometimes still known by its older names of the Upland Chorus Frog (P. feriarum) or Western Chorus Frog (P. triseriata).  This little striped chorus frog has a call like someone running their fingers over a comb.  They call during the early spring and into the fall any time there is appreciable rain in their range.  They will call from flooded areas in the forest or along flooded roadsides.

Cajun Chorus Frog (Pseudacris fouquettei)

A little further west, the Spotted Chorus Frog (Pseudacris clarkii) takes over in the grasslands and prairies of central and coastal Texas.  Its call is a higher pitch, faster "creeeek" call than the other chorus frog.

Spotted Chorus Frog (Pseudacris clarkii)

They are not generally found together in the same habitat, but I came across this flooded field in Fort Bend County, Texas where both species were calling together.  There were also Squirrel Treefrogs (Hyla squirrela) in this chorus.

You can clearly hear the deeper, slow "fingernail over a comb" call of the Cajun Chorus Frog with the shorter, faster higher pitched "creeeeek, creeeeek, creeeeek" of the Spotted Chorus Frog above it.  You also hear the almost duck-like quack of the Squirrel Treefrog mixed in.

Here's a section of a rather dirty spectrogram showing these calls.   The lower pitched quacking sound underline in green is the Squirrel Treefrog (Hyla squirrela).  The lower pitched sound like a fingernail over a comb underlined in red is Cajun Chorus Frog (P. fouquettei, marked feriarum).  The short "creeeks" underlined in blue are the Spotted Chorus Frogs (P. clarkii).

Here is the recording of that particular section.

© Chris Harrison 2012