Pseudacris maculata
Silhouette: Beth Reinke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) is a species of chorus frog native to Canada from central Quebec to eastern British Columbia and north to the Northwest Territories and the southern portion of the Yukon. It occurs in the USA throughout Montana, Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, northeastern Arizona, northern New Mexico, and southwestern Utah.
This small species of frog reaches about 30 mm in length. It is highly variable, but is normally brown, and can be green on the dorsal surface, with three broken dorsal stripes; these stripes can be very distinct to quite faint. A dark band is present from the snout, across the eye, and continuing down the side. It has slightly enlarged toe pads to help in climbing small grasses and vegetation. This species is very similar to the western chorus frog (Pseudacris triseriata). It can be distinguished from this species by having shorter legs.
This species can be found around permanent water bodies in cleared land and forest. Males make a "reeeek" call from grasses, vegetation, or ground around the water body from April through to September. This call is characteristic of the trilling frog clade... Wikipedia →
Recording1:30
United States · 2013
© Jonathon Jongsma · XC138641 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Recording0:11
Canada · 2015
© Julie · XC298506 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:05
United States · 2026
© professorquercus · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wood Buffalo National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Boreal Chorus Frog sighting in Chicago on a given day, based on 47 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 4th most-seen of the 5 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Boreal Chorus Frog in Chicago on a given day, against under 5% in May to February, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Boreal Chorus Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Boreal Chorus Frog sightings, Chicago ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (United States, about 10%), Edmonton (Canada, about 10%) and Calgary (Canada, about 10%).
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the Boreal Chorus Frog that you can see in Chicago (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are American Toad (about 20%), American Bullfrog (about 20%) and Northern Leopard Frog (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Boreal Chorus Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Chicago (47 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
