The Pacific chorus frog is the smallest frog in Oregon, and one of the easiest to hear. During the breeding season, males gather at ponds, lake edges, slow streams and even seasonal pools, and when one starts calling with a rattling krr-ek, the others join in until the whole wetland rings.
Up close, the frog is about 2 inches long or less, with a dark stripe that runs from the tip of the snout through the eye to the shoulder. Its color is surprisingly variable, from green to tan, brown, gray, reddish or nearly black, and an individual can change shade. Large toe pads let it climb and cling to grass stems, twigs and branches, though it spends most of its time near the ground in tall plants.
Outside the breeding season, chorus frogs wander well away from water into wet meadows, streamside thickets, woods, brush and even disturbed ground. A waxy coating from special skin glands helps keep them from drying out, and they hide under plants, rocks and logs to stay cool and damp. In freezing weather they go quiet and inactive.
Around Mt. Hood, listen for them at ponds, lake margins and wet meadows during the breeding season. They are common but easy to overlook once the singing stops.
How to identify it
A small frog up to about 2 inches long with a dark stripe from the snout through the eye to the shoulder. Color ranges from green to tan, brown, gray, reddish or black, often with dark blotches on the sides. Toes end in round pads, and breeding males have a dark, inflatable throat pouch.
Habitat
Breeds in ponds, lakes, marshes, slow streams and seasonal pools. The rest of the year it may live far from water in wet meadows, streamside thickets, woodlands, brush and clearings, sheltering under plants, logs and rocks.
Sightings in the forest
243 research-grade sightings in Mt. Hood National Forest on iNaturalist, most recently on October 17, 2026. See them on iNaturalist →