Hyperolius viridiflavus
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The common reed frog (Hyperolius viridiflavus) is a species of tree frogs in the family Hyperoliidae found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, and possibly the Central African Republic, Chad, and Eritrea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, rivers, swamps, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, freshwater springs, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, urban areas, heavily degraded former forests, water storage areas, ponds, irrigated land, seasonally flooded agricultural land, and canals and ditches.
The common reed frog is particularly thrifty at rationing out its moisture to maintain long, dry periods during the extended dry seasons in West Africa. It does so by a combination of anuria and increasing its ability to intake water. Fluids contained in its bladder can be used when water becomes unavailable, and the increase in uptake allows it to replenish its stores quickly when the weather allows.
Some evidence suggests that west African frogs may change sex from female to male after having successfully bred. Animals that switch sex as adults are known as sequential hermaphrodites because they have the gonads of either sex but at different periods of their lives. This contrasts with animals which are "simultaneous hermaphrodites" which have both gonads at the same point. However, this sequential hermaphroditism in reed frogs has only been noted once and in a captive colony. Wikipedia →
Recording1:09
Uganda · 2023
© Jan Vršovský · iNaturalist · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Kenya · 2022
© Tobby Odhacha · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
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Kenya · 2023
© LR Johnson · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 2 | Kibale National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Arusha National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 4 | Nairobi National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Reed Frog sighting in Nairobi on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, April and September–November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Reed Frog in Nairobi on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, May, August and December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Reed Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Common Reed Frog sightings, Nairobi ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Kigali (Rwanda, about 30%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Reed Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Nairobi (7 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.
