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 Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Reed Frog in Masai Mara National Reserve on a given day, against under 5% in April–May and October, the lowest months. Those are among Masai Mara National Reserve's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain a month against 15 mm in July.
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.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Common Reed Frog sightings, Masai Mara National Reserve ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 30%), Kibale National Park (Uganda, about 20%) and Arusha National Park (Tanzania, about 20%).
Same order: Anura
The closest relatives of the Common Reed Frog that you can see in Masai Mara National Reserve (order Anura, Frogs and Toads) are African Common Toad (about 10%), Crowned bullfrog (about 10%) and Anchieta's Ridged Frog (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Reed Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Masai Mara National Reserve (15 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.
