Chiromantis xerampelina
Silhouette: Jose Carlos Arenas-Monroy · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The grey foam-nest tree frog (Chiromantis xerampelina), or southern foam-nest tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Rhacophoridae. They are found in southern Africa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, urban areas, heavily degraded former forests, ponds, and canals and ditches.
Grey foam-nest tree frogs are known for simultaneous polyandry, where female frogs have multiple mates on separate territories that guard the eggs and care for young. This behavior is owed to their external fertilization mechanism. During the mating process, the female frog produces a foam nest, typically on branches that hang above bodies of water, in order to keep her eggs moist as they develop. This practice is what gives the grey foam-nest tree frogs their name.
Grey foam-nest tree frogs are arboreal. Like other species in the genus Chiromantis, they have discs on their toes, and their outer two fingers are widely spaced and nearly at a right angle... Wikipedia →
Recording0:09
South Africa · 2022
© Jacob Dirsuwei · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:12
South Africa · 2020
© Sascha Schumann · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:10
Mozambique · 2009
© probreviceps · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | uMkhuze Game Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 3 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 4 | Gorongosa National Park | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | |
| 5 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 6 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 7 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 8 | Gonarezhou National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 9 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 10 | Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 11 | Hwange National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 12 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 13 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 14 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Grey Foam-nest Treefrog sighting in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May, September and November
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Grey Foam-nest Treefrog in Lower Zambezi National Park on a given day, against about 10% in July and August, the lowest months. Those are among Lower Zambezi National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 290 mm in January. March and December–January have too few records to rate.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grey Foam-nest Treefrog sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
6th of 14
Of the 14 parks where we can rate Grey Foam-nest Treefrog sightings, Lower Zambezi National Park ranks 6th at about 40%. The best odds are in uMkhuze Game Reserve (South Africa, about 60%), South Luangwa National Park (Zambia, about 50%) and Liwonde National Park (Malawi, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grey Foam-nest Treefrog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Lower Zambezi National Park (8 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
