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American Bullfrog predation on birds
Topic Started: Jun 26 2012, 11:57 AM (5,151 Views)
Wild
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Side Commentary: Larger species of frogs such as African Bullfrogs (Pyxicephalus adspersus) and Horned frogs (frogs belonging to the genus Ceratophrys) are known to be voracious predators but I doubt any of them prey on birds at all due to their rotund, bulky, heavyset statures which hinders their quickness and lunging ability. American Bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) appear to have the size and physical ability to actively stalk and catch birds. persoanlly I think bullfrogs are among the most athletic frog species, being able to leap quite a few feet in a single bound. Thier hunting technique,when going after avian prey,seems to involve them lying in wait in water until a bird flies within striking distance. Then they leap out in an explosive burst using their strong legs and grabbing the bird in their jaws. It seems the cause of death for most of the bullfrog's bird victims is drowning. Here are a few instances of bullfrog predation on birds:









(skip to 0: 30 mark for predation)





Play by play pictures of a bullfrog stalking and eating a bird:

Bull Frog Vs Sparrow

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Spectacular captures of the American Bullfrog preying on an unlucky sparrow. Growing up to a length of 20 centimeters or 7.9 inches, the bullfrog preys on any animal that it can overpower and stuff down its throat. Their stomachs have been found to contain rodents, small turtles, snakes, frogs including bullfrogs and birds of course. Ambush predators as they are known for, the bullfrog can be seen submerging large preys (in this case the sparrow) into the water to cut their air supply and defense. Check out the whole sequence of the bullfrog and the unlucky sparrow with 5 more pics after the jump........

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An excerpt from an article concerning the flight speeds of wood ducks that reports bullfrog predation on ducklings:

Only about one-third of the ducklings ’ posterior end protruded from the frogs ’
mouth, the duckling already being well down the frogs ’ throat. Nevertheless, the duckling
was pulled alive from the frogs ’ throat and soon became active. The ducklings ’ legs
were not injured in the towing process.
The method used to capture these ducklings was different than the method earlier
described as being used by a bullfrog for capturing a bird. W. E. Howard (1950.
Copeia, 1950:152) reported seeing the capture of a Brown Towhee (Pip& fuscus cam-
lae), which was caught by one foot or leg and submerged before swallowing was started.
The frog spent about an hour swallowing the bird.
A. H. Wright (1920. “Frogs: their natural history and utilization,” 42) reported
ducklings unusual in the bullfrogs ’ diet. W. L. McAtee (1921. Copeia, 1921:40) re-
ported shooting of a bullfrog “swallowing a three-weeks old duckling” of an unnamed
species. 0. H. Hewitt (1950. .I. Wildl. Mgmt., 14:244) reported finding two Black Ducks
(Anas rubripes), two or three days old, in the stomach of a bullfrog.
The promptness with which the duckling disappeared as the five free ducklings moved
through the cattails, together with the quick capture of the two tethered birds, suggests
that bullfrog predation on youn g Wood Ducks may be substantial in some situations.
Capture of tethered birds, of course, is only partly indicative of what would happen in
a natural situation.
The observations reported in this note were made when I was conducting research
on the Wood Duck under support of the Ohio Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit. Dr.
E. H. Dustman guided the research project, and the 1J.S. Fish and Wildlife Service re-
viewed and typed the ImnUSCript.-PAUL A. STEWART, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Agricultural Research Service, Entomology Research Division, Oxford, North Carolina,
30 April 1966.


From: http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Wilson/v079n02/p0238-p0239.pdf
Edited by Wild, Sep 22 2012, 11:12 AM.
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Wild
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As seen not all birds are successfully swallowed so they are regurgitated
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Wild
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Wow I've gotten so low I have to beg for replies.....so absolutely no one finds this the least bit interesting no one even just wants to give it a click upon reading the title really?
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cidermaster
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This is a very interesting topic,boy those are Super Frogs!!!!!!!! Great footage and info there!
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Wild
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cidermaster
Jun 29 2012, 07:50 AM
This is a very interesting topic,boy those are Super Frogs!!!!!!!! Great footage and info there!
thank you cidermaster I really appreciate it
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Superpredator
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Wild Dog
Jun 28 2012, 12:37 PM
Wow I've gotten so low I have to beg for replies.....so absolutely no one finds this the least bit interesting no one even just wants to give it a click upon reading the title really?
I guess not. I found this interesting but had nothing to reply.
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Wild
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Tigerkid
Jun 29 2012, 03:00 PM
Wild Dog
Jun 28 2012, 12:37 PM
Wow I've gotten so low I have to beg for replies.....so absolutely no one finds this the least bit interesting no one even just wants to give it a click upon reading the title really?
I guess not. I found this interesting but had nothing to reply.
oh I see I've been in that situation not really much to say but "wow" or "cool"
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Superpredator
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Yeah, but anyway.....WOW!!
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Rashido
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Tigerkid
Jun 29 2012, 03:00 PM
Wild Dog
Jun 28 2012, 12:37 PM
Wow I've gotten so low I have to beg for replies.....so absolutely no one finds this the least bit interesting no one even just wants to give it a click upon reading the title really?
I guess not. I found this interesting but had nothing to reply.
Same here. This is a pretty good topic though, I never really thought of frogs as capable of such feats.
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Ceratodromeus
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(Attempted)Predation on cliff swallows, documented in the 2009 Herpetological review
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These frogs never cease to amaze me..
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Ceratodromeus
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Old but nonetheless interesting
(From the '87 Herpetological review)
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Ceratodromeus
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FIELD OBSERVATIONS OF BULLFROG (RANA CATESBEINA) PREY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
"The bullfrog (Rana catesbeina) is British Columbia’s
largest anuran and spends most of its life in the water where
it breeds and hunts. It is well known that adult bullfrogs
are voracious predators and will eat virtually anything that
moves and can be stuffed into their mouths. Their diet in
North America includes snakes, fishes, frogs, salamanders,
small turtles, small mammals, young waterfowl, marsh
birds, songbirds, crayfishes, and a wide variety of aquatic
invertebrates. They are also cannibalistic, eating both their
own tadpoles and other adults and juveniles (Bury and
Whelan 1985; Conant and Collins 1991; Albright 1999).
The seasonal and regional diet of the bullfrog in British
Columbia is unknown. General prey groups mentioned for
the province include young birds, mice, fishes, and smaller
bullfrogs (Green and Campbell 1984). The purpose of this
note is to document two field observations of prey species
and list other animals known to be preyed upon by the
bullfrog in British Columbia.
While photographing the introduced slider (Trachemys
scripta) at Jerry Sulina Park in Maple Ridge on 29 July
2004, a juvenile Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) landed
on the water plants and began foraging (Figure 1). The rural
park includes a small meandering stream with permanent,
but shallow, backwater ponds that contain small patches
of the white water-lily (Nuphar odorata), and floating logs
and wooden platforms. The sandpiper was feeding on snails
and large flying insects on the underside of curled waterlily
leaves. The shorebird was watched feeding for about 15
minutes while it moved from the centre of the pond towards
the shore where it was within range to photograph. While
the Solitary Sandpiper was slowly stalking an insect an
adult bullfrog suddenly grabbed the bird and disappeared
underwater. I waited unsuccessfully for about 35 minutes
hoping that something might appear on the nearby water
surface. I rechecked the patch of water-lilies the following
morning but found nothing but more adult and juvenile
bullfrogs lurking beneath the cover of water-lily leaves.
On 14 August 1996, Glenn Ryder noticed a Rufous
Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) flying low over the water
surface at Little Sumas Lake (Goose Lake) near Abbotsford

The bird, likely a female or juvenile, was buzzing back and
forth when suddenly the lake’s surface broke into a splash
and a large bullfrog, with split second timing and mouth
wide open, grabbed the hummingbird from the air, plunged
back into the water, and vanished. The bullfrog leapt at least
0.61 m out of the water to capture the bird.
The Wildlife Data Centre databases, housed by the
Biodiversity Centre for Wildlife Studies in Victoria, include
a wide variety of bullfrog prey previously unpublished
from throughout the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast, and
southeastern Vancouver Island. These include: red-legged
frog (Rana aurora) and green frog (Rana clamitans) adults,
juveniles, and tadpoles, bullfrog tadpoles, common garter
snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) young Canada Goose (Branta
canadensis) goslings, Wood Duck (Aix sponsa), Mallard
(Anas platyrhnchos), Gadwall (Anas sterpera), and Bluewinged
Teal (Anas discors) ducklings, Virginia Rail (Rallus
limicola) chicks, American Coot (Fulica americana) chicks,
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitus macularia) chicks, Bushtit
(Psaltriparus minimus), Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris),
flycatcher species, European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)
fledgling, Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) juvenile,
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) juvenile, Yellow
Warbler (Dendroica petechia), Common Yellowthroat
(Geothlypis trichas), Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
juvenile, Dark-eyed (“Oregon”) Junco (Junco hyemalis
oreganus), Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), and
Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus)
newly fledged young, Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus),
Townsend’s vole (Microtus townsendii), Pacific water shrew
(Sorex bendirii), and domestic cat (Felis catus). "
http://m.wildlifebc.org/pdfs/1_2_Campbell_Ryder.pdf
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Ophiophagy
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my kookaburra caught and killed the biggest bullfrog i have ever seen.
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Ceratodromeus
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That's cool, i guess .
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Vancouver island Bullfrog with a song bird recovered from its stomach
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