Where’s Wildlife · Frog & Toad Field Guide
Pseudacris triseriata
Pronounced (approx.): SOO-duh-kris try-seer-ee-AH-tuh
A small striped frog whose early-spring chorus can fill a shallow wetland.
Chorus Frog. Select the photo to browse the gallery.
NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA
Lengths are snout to vent; season and activity vary with weather and location.
Usually three dark lengthwise stripes on the back
Dark stripe through the eye above a pale upper lip
Small body and small toe pads; usually close to the ground
Compare views, markings and body shapes in the photographs below.
Look for lengthwise back stripes rather than the diagonal cross of a Spring Peeper. The pale lip and dark side stripe are useful supporting clues.
Boreal Chorus Frog (Pseudacris maculata) is very similar. This page retains the existing P. triseriata identification; photographs alone may not resolve the pair. Calls, locality and current regional accounts help.
Damp meadows, wetland edges and woodland margins near shallow seasonal water. Adults feed on small insects, spiders and other tiny invertebrates. Often heard during early-spring breeding.
Males call from shallow water early in the year. Small egg clusters attach to submerged vegetation. Tadpoles develop in the pool before young frogs disperse into surrounding cover.
A thumbnail drawn across comb teeth suggests the texture of the call.
Many hidden callers can make a wetland sound full of frogs.
Midland and Western Chorus Frog are also used for P. triseriata.
Pseudacris triseriata is treated today as primarily a Great Lakes and east-central species east of the Mississippi. Older broad-range references can include other chorus frogs. Confirm locality before applying a species-level range map. Observation maps show reported encounters, not the entire range.
Explore reported sightings on iNaturalist. Observation records are not a complete range map.