Leopard Frogs also have prominent light-coloured dorsolateral ridges and a white belly. They can grow to over 10 cm body length but this is quite rare. Adults are usually cm. Description: This is a moderate sized, true frog with prominent dorsolateral ridges. It may be reddish, tan or dark brown with a dark mask that ends abruptly behind the tympanum.
Some individuals have a light line down the middle of the back. There is a dark blotch on the chest near each front leg. The belly is white and there may be some dark mottling. The toes are not fully webbed.
Adults may reach up to 8 cm. They also have white wings throughout the year. Inflatable red combs above their eyes, which are especially evident in territorial and courting males, are inconspicuous to barely visible in females.
Ptarmigans have three seasonal plumages per year, instead of the two that are usual for most birds. These plumages keep the birds, particularly the female, well camouflaged at all times. In winter, all ptarmigans of both sexes are basically white. Whereas White-tailed Ptarmigans have permanently white tail feathers, the tails of Willow and Rock Ptarmigans remain black throughout the year.
In winter, male—and some female—Rock Ptarmigans sport a black stripe that extends through the eye to the bill as if they had put on charcoal goggles to prevent snow blindness , distinguishing them from male Willow Ptarmigans.
In ptarmigans, the moult, or shedding of old feathers, starts with the head and progresses towards the tail. As soon as the spring snowmelt begins, females moult into a barred breeding plumage of brown, gold, and black.
Female ptarmigans are difficult to tell apart in spring, but the overall tones of the White-tailed Ptarmigan females are cooler in comparison to those of the other two species. Breeding males delay their moult. The Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii is a seabird that resembles a small gull, but it has the typically slender body, short legs, and long, pointed wings of all terns.
It is closely related to the Common Tern Sterna hirundo and the Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea and is frequently found in their company. For these reasons, the Roseate Tern is not easy to identify see drawings. It is a paler grey than Arctic and Common terns, and its tail streamers are considerably longer. The adult Roseate Tern is 33 to 34 cm in length and has a wingspan of 72 to 80 cm. At a weight of approximately to g, an adult is slightly smaller than a Mourning Dove.
It has a black forehead and nape, and its upper wing is a pale grey. Its tail is white with deeply forked outer feathers that give the impression of long streamers when the bird is in flight. The underside of the tern is white, tinged with pink early in the breeding season; however, this pale rosy tint is not a good field mark, or identification characteristic, because it varies from bird to bird, and the colour tends to be bleached out by the sun.
The legs and feet are reddish, and the bill is mostly black, although bills of breeding birds may be red at the base. Male and female birds look alike. The head of the nonbreeding adult is mottled black and white.
The juvenile Roseate Tern has a mottled greyish back and rump and dark bill and legs. Chicks are unevenly covered with down, giving them a spiky appearance; their legs are dark purplish to black. Signs and sounds All terns have a harsh cry, but the Roseate Tern has a distinctive, two-syllable call — kir-rick.
This is often the best way of confirming its presence at a colony. Many naturalists and hunters consider the Wood Duck Aix sponsa to be the most beautiful duck in North America, if not the world.
The male in its multi-coloured breeding plumage, worn from October through June, is unexcelled among ducks. The female is less showy, although still beautiful and more colourful than other female ducks. Wood Ducks are intermediate in size, between the Mallard and Blue-winged Teal; on average, males weigh g and females weigh g. From a distance, the male Wood Duck on the water appears as a dark-bodied, dark-breasted, light-flanked duck with a striped crested head and a light-coloured throat.
At close range, its iridescent plumage, red eyes, and black, red, and white bill are conspicuous. A white eye-ring, light-coloured throat, and fine crest distinguish the female from both the male Wood Duck and females of other species. Both sexes usually show a downward pointing crest at the back of the head, and their long broad square tails are distinctive features in flight. The wings of Wood Ducks are highly characteristic.
The primary wing feathers, which are the 10 outermost flight feathers attached to the wing beyond the wrist, are dark in colour. The outer vanes of these feathers look as if they have been sprayed with aluminum paint.
The Wood Duck is the only North American duck so marked. Shorebirds form one of the most interesting, important, and spectacular groups of birds in Canada. They comprise a diverse group of species, including the plovers, oystercatchers, avocets, stilts, turnstones, sandpipers, yellowlegs, snipes, godwits, curlews, and phalaropes. To the uninitiated, many species of shorebirds, especially the smaller sandpipers, appear confusingly similar, representing variations on a design involving long legs, a long bill, sharp, dynamic wings, and a streamlined body.
These design features all reflect the lifestyle for which the birds are adapted—long legs for wading in water or on mudflats or marshes, the long bill for searching for tiny animal and insect prey by probing into Arctic tundra or a variety of substrates, and long wings and a streamlined body for swift flight over long distances.
The Redhead Aythya americana is a well-known and widely distributed North American diving duck. The adult male is a large, grey-backed, white-breasted duck with a reddish-chestnut head and black neck and chest. It resembles the larger male Canvasback. The adult female is a large, brown-backed, white-breasted duck with a brown head, whitish chin, abrupt forehead, short, broad bill, and pearl-grey wing patches. Female Redheads, although larger, may be confused with female Ring-necked Ducks and scaups.
In autumn young Redheads resemble adult females, although their breast plumage is dull grey-brown, rather than white. During November and December, the young begin to develop the adult plumage, which has almost completely grown in by February. The genus Aythya, to which the Redhead belongs, includes 12 species, all of which are well adapted to diving.
The body is rounded and thick with large feet, legs set back on the body, and a broad bill. Body shapes vary from the big, long-necked, long-billed Canvasback to the short-billed scaup. Skip to main content. Photo: Susan Enders. At a Glance This animal: -is two species of small frogs, about the size of a grape -is an amphibian; it needs both aquatic and terrestrial habitats to survive -is most easily noticed in the spring because of its loud call -is at risk in Canada Tweet.
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The Atlantic Cod may live as long as 25 years. Unique characteristics The Right Whale has a bit of an unusual name. Barn Swallow photo by J. Little Brown Bat. Youth Wolf youth. Classic Wolf 30 seconds. Classic Wolf 15 seconds.
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Classic Sea Otter 30 seconds. A thick piece of wood such as driftwood can be placed partly in the water and partly on land to provide a smooth transition from water to land. This piece of wood can also double as a suitable basking spot. Alternately, smooth gravel or flat rocks can be stacked on the aquatic side to provide a ramp out of the water.
Smooth gravel is less likely to cause skin abrasions and injuries, and ideally, the gravel should be large enough that the small frogs cannot swallow it. If possible, use a removable water container on the water side that is easy to put in and take out for cleaning every two to three days. Avoid using a water filter , instead, do a 50 percent water change regularly at least twice weekly, perhaps more. Some experts believe that constant water vibrations from a water filtration pump can cause sensory overload in frogs.
Every other week, you will need to clean the enclosure thoroughly with hot water. Do not use soap as detergent residues can kill frogs. Remove and replace the substrate and clean the walls and bottom of the tank.
The tank should be kept between 70 to 75 degrees F during the day. However, a temperature drop at night is a good idea, down to about 60 F about 16 C. As these creatures are cold-blooded, they need to regulate their internal body temperature. They do this by moving around in their cage to cool down or get warm. Provide a thermal gradient or range of temperatures in the cage. You can do this by providing a basking spot or warm area that goes up to 80 F at one end of the cage.
Use a ceramic heat emitter, nocturnal heat light, or under tank heating pad to provide a temperature variant. Leopard frogs hibernate, so in the winter, they will slow down and may stop eating for about three months. If possible, cool the habitat from 37 to 39 F for the winter months to mimic the frog's natural environment. Some frog owners feel this light is not necessary, but it is not harmful and likely helpful to your frog. Just make sure the frog can't jump onto the lamp and make sure your mesh screen lid is secure.
Avoid making the enclosure too bright; it may keep your frogs continuously hiding. An ideal humidity range for the cage is 50 to 70 percent. If your frog needs more humidity, it can submerge in the water.
A hygrometer or humidity gauge will help you check moisture levels. Use a spray bottle to mist the cage with dechlorinated water several times a day, or you can automate this with an electronic mister or fogger that uses sensors or a timer. Substrate is the bedding or lining for the bottom of your pet's cage.
You can use organic potting soil or a combination of soil and peat moss with reptile bark and sphagnum moss on the terrestrial side to allow the frogs to burrow. Logan Salm was a summer communications intern for the Nature Conservancy of Canada in Saskatchewan. Read more about Logan Salm. More by this author ». Donor inquiries donors natureconservancy. Visit our FAQ page. Land Lines. Peregrine falcon Photo by Chris Hill. Moose in northern Saskatchewan Photo by ehCanadaTravel.
Gibson's big sand tiger beetle Photo by Ted MacRae. In response to various provincial emergency orders, our offices and facilities will be closed until further notice. The Nature Conservancy of Canada remains open for business. Please find our contact information below. Full Site.
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