The Common Frog
Loscann Coiteann
The Common Frog is the only species of frog found in Ireland and is also Ireland's most common amphibian. It is a protected species because the European population of Common Frogs is declining.
Frog among the bog mosses
An adult frog among the bog mosses in Liffey Head bog. The tadpoles live in the bog pools where they feed on tiny aquatic insects. The presence of multicoloured Sphagnum moss is a sign of an actively growing blanket bog. ( Richard Nairn)
copyright R. NairnFrog among the bog mosses
copyright R. Nairn
copyright R. Nairn
Frog among the bog mosses
An adult frog among the bog mosses in Liffey Head bog. The tadpoles live in the bog pools where they feed on tiny aquatic insects. The presence of multicoloured Sphagnum moss is a sign of an actively growing blanket bog. ( Richard Nairn)
copyright R. NairnThe colour of its skin can vary from pale yellow to purple on top, and sometimes it has a speckled belly underneath. The colour depends on the main colour of its habitat and this helps to protect it from nasty predators!
A Frog's Life!
The Common Frog can live for up to seven or eight years and likes to stay in damp areas such as ponds, drains, hedgerows or ditches. It doesn't like the cold frosty weather, so during the winter it lives in frost-free shelters e.g. tree stumps or rock piles. It has a long sticky tongue which it uses to catch insects such as snails, flies, slugs, worms and even spiders!
You can help protect the frog's habitat by creating a garden pond and soon you might find a population of frogs living there!
The Common Frog breeds around February and spawns in March. The tadpoles, or small eggs, hatch and grow from April to May, then change into froglets (baby Frogs). Young frogs usually double in size by the following autumn!
How much do you grow in one year?
Did you know?
The Common Frog's eyes and nostrils are on top of its head so it can still see and breathe even when most of its body is underwater!
The Common Frog can breathe through its skin as well as its lungs!
The female frog can lay several thousand eggs in a lifetime but less than 1 in 10,000 need to survive to maintain the population.