FROG

18th January 2024

Photo Credit: davidmhuntphotography (Getty Images), CANVA

Good night, good night; you’re gone. I am very hungry.

Would I could find a fine frog; he would tell me

News from all parts o’ th’ world; then would I make

A carrack of a cockleshell, and sail

By east and northeast to the king of the pygmies,

For he tells fortunes rarely.

DAUGHTER: Two Noble Kinsmen, Act 3, Scene 4

FROG (Common Frog: Rana temporaria)

Frogs appear in only a few places, in the witches cooking pot in Macbeth, Poor Tom’s snack in King Lear, and as the source of fresh news in Two Noble Kinsmen.

There are 2 native Frog species in the UK, the Common Frog (Rana temporaria) which is widespread throughout much of the UK, and the Northern Pool Frog (Pelophylax lessonae) which appeared to be extinct in the wild in the 1990s and were reintroduced to a few sites. There are also some non-native Frog species in Britain. Frogs are amphibians, living in a range of habitats and eating slugs, snails, worms and flies. Frogs hibernate in winter.

More Information

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC): Frogs & Toads

Froglife: Common Frog

Natural History Museum: UK Amphibian Identification Guide

Wildlife Trusts: Common Frog