Eastern
Dwarf Tree Frogs: Our home at Yallaroo is perched on a windswept hill.
There was no water on the hill before we moved here. It was certainly the most
unlikely habitat for frogs. Building
a frog pond, near the house, was one of our first tasks when we moved here. A
few weeks after filling the pond we heard our first frogs and the serenade has
continued ever since. The nearest water, before the pond was filled, was our
small dam at least 500 metres from the house. Obviously frogs (even small
species) are capable of traveling long distances.
We now have three frog ponds, with more on the drawing board, and vocal frog
populations. Eastern Dwarf Tree Frogs (Litoria fallax) have taken up
residence not only in and around the ponds but also in our propagating igloo
and in the vegetation surrounding the house. The two Dwarf Tree Frogs
illustrated were resting in a small eucalypt. They also favour Cordyline (Palm
Lilies) leaves. Up to ten frogs have been observed sheltering on one
Cordyline.
Eastern Dwarf Tree Frogs are about two centimetres long
with a suction pad on each toe. The call is a squeaky and high pitched
wr-e-e-ek, wr-e-e-ek (or words to that effect) continued many times.