Friday, April 23, 2010

Something to Jump Around About

First, I'm not who you think I am. My name is Sonic, and my mom is letting me be Guest Blogger for today. I like frogs, and April is National Frog Month, so I decided to research frogs. Here is what I found out:


Know Your Frog and Toad
No, no. Not the book! I mean the real things. Did you know all toads are actually frogs, but they do have some ways to tell them apart? You can find frogs everywhere in the world except Antarctica. You can find true toads every place but Australasia, polar regions, Madagascar, and Polynesia. You can also find toads in Australia and some South Pacific Islands, but they aren't there naturally. People brought them there. Frogs tend to lay eggs in clusters, and toads tend to lay eggs in long chains. Frogs have smooth or slimy skin and like wetter places, but toads have dry and warty skin, and prefer dryer places. Frogs have long, webbed hind feet for jumping and swimming, and toads have short hind legs for walking instead of hopping. (I did not know that before!)

Just Frogs
Here's some cool stuff I learned about frogs:
  • A frog can change the color of its skin depending on what's around it.
  • Frogs can lay up to 4,000 eggs all at one time.
  • Frogs have teeth, but only in their upper jaw.
  • The African Giant is the biggest frog there is. It can grow up to 26 inches long and weigh up to 10 pounds!
  • Bullfrogs can live for 30 years!
  • Frogs get their water by absorbing it through their skin, instead of drinking it.
  • A group of frogs is called an army.
  • Only male frogs can croak.
Ways to Celebrate
I wondered how I could have fun during National Frog Month. I found a few suggestions at How to Celebrate National Frog Month:
  1. Make a frog pond in your backyard, so you can watch them close up.
  2. Learn the life cycle of a frog.
  3. Visit a wet place where a frog might like to live, and see if you can find any to watch and listen to.
  4. Play leap frog.
You could also visit the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy's National Frog Month blog page. It has a link to a Frogs and Toads crossworld puzzle that you can print and fill in.