Quacking/Red-thighed Froglet Crinia georgiana

Please take the time to see these photographs larger by clicking on them.

This has got to be the funniest sounding frog.  Most people would not question that what they are hearing is a duck, it sounds more like a duck than a duck does.

This is a round little frog with quite a large head and short limbs.  It does not have webbed toes or fingers.  Some have smooth skin while others have more bumpy skin.  The colours of this frog vary from grey and brown to almost black, some have patterns.  All of these frogs have a bright red patch in the groin and red or golden patches on the upper eyelids.

Breeding occurs from July to October on cold nights.  The eggs are large and separate and are often laid in shallow water and even in roadside gutters.  They live on the coastal plain and in forests.  I have heard them a lot in the Darling Range, Mundaring Catchment away from the water further up the bank or next to trickling water running down a steep slope.

This is probably a quacking frog at North Lake in Perth on June 18.  There were a lot of Quacking frogs, Glauret's froglets and Moaning frogs calling loudly as it had rained heavily that day.

Serpentine May 19.  These frogs were on a slopping bank that led down to a creek.

See the burrowing digits on the toes?  These frogs love to hide but quickly start quacking again when you stay still.

Can you see the red eyelid that this frog has? 

Serpentine May 16.  I have visited this area a few times to see these cuties.

Serpentine May 19.

Males are 24-32mm snout to vent and females are 30-36mm snout to vent.

What does it eat?

Nothing known.  Other species of this genus feed on  a variety of small invertebrates.  This frog has a long oval tongue.

Frogs will only eat live moving food.

Other places I have heard these frogs.  These calls have not been analysed. 
Mt Cooke close to Albany Hwy where it is sandy, in August.
Noble Falls Toodyay Rd near Gidgegannup in July.
Lane Pool Reserve near Dwellingup in October.
Thomson Lake June.
Bungendore Park on Albany Hwy near Perth in May.
Wungong Dam off Admiral Rd on Brookton Hwy in June.  Gates shut at night.  Easy to walk in.
Bibra Lake Hope Rd across the road from the lake in the bushland there is a creek.  Heard in August.
Mt Dale off Brookton Hwy in July.
Ellis Brook Reserve Orange Grove near Tonkin Hwy heard in the driveway in August and July along with other unknown frogs.
Great Eastern Hwy just past "The Lakes" service station in June.
John Forest National Park near Midland off Great Eastern Hwy.
Julimar National Park off Julimar Rd northeast of Perth in May.
Jarradale campsite Gooralong Creek in June and further up the creek along Stacey's walk trail. And at Jarradale Rd West at the same time of year.
Kalamunda "Bibblumun Track" we heard several quacking frogs along the way throughout the granite boulders.
Pauls Valley Road near Kalamunda National Park in June.
Kalamunda National Park the entrance off Hummerston Rd in June.
Lake leschenaultia near Mt Helena east of Perth in July and August near the roadside.  Gates shut at night.  Easy to walk in.
Bullcreek Park Perth near the back of Rossmoyne Senior High School and along Karel Ave in July.
Thornlie Creek area Perth in August.
Whiteman Park north of Perth in August (you must get permission to enter this park at night).
Neaves Road in Bullsbrook in May, a few during the day.
Christmas Tree Well on Brookton Highway in September.
Glenforest Perth in September.

Click here to hear the natural pauses between calls.

  Go here to learn about the males mating.

Text

"Frogs Of Western Australia" by M J Tyler, L A Smith, R E Johnstone.