Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Field Guide to Maryland's Frogs and Toads (Order Anura)


New Jersey Chorus Frog (Pseudacris kalmi)


Adult New Jersey Chorus Frog, photo courtesy of Rebecca Chalmers
Adult New Jersey Chorus Frog, photo courtesy of Rebecca Chalmers

Adult New Jersey Chorus Frog, photo courtesy of John White
Adult New Jersey Chorus Frog, photo courtesy of John White

Former Name:

Size:
  • ¾ - 1½ inches

    • Appearance:
  • Small pale grey to dark brown treefrog with whitish undersides.
  • Three broad dark stripes (which may be broken) down the back.
  • Small toe disks and feet only slightly webbed.
  • Usually dark line or other marking between eyes, which may be in shape of triangle.

    • Habitats:
  • A frog of many habitats, forested or open, but usually heard calling during breeding season in open shallow bodies of water, including roadside ditches, flooded pastures and hayfields.
  • They typically call hidden in a clump of herbaceous vegetation within or immediately next to the flooded area.
  • Found on the Delmarva Peninsula only where it is very common.

    • How to Find:
  • These are our earliest breeding frog, with large choruses heard from February to early April.
  • Look carefully in grass and sedge clumps in shallow wet areas.
  • The call has been likened to the sound produced by running your finger over the small teeth of a comb, with the call speeding up and rising in pitch at the end, “teeeeee”, also “preeep”.
  • Calls day or night.

    • Distribution in Maryland:
    New Jersey Chorus Frogs are primarily found on the eastern shore while Upland Chorus Frogs mostly occur on the western shore and into part of western Maryland.
    Maryland Distribution Map for New Jersey Chorus Frog
    For More Information: