Jog Night Frog (image #2)

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Nyctibatrachus jog | Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary

A male Jog Night Frog guarding an egg clutch. The developing tadpoles are visible inside the eggs.
Unlike the majority of night frogs which are ground dwelling, this is a leaf-dwelling species; the dilated finger tips are a very noticeable adaptation. Like most of its relatives, this night frog mates with multiple females in succession and each female lays an egg clutch in the male's territory. We found at least four egg clutches on this shrub, each in a different stage of development, all presumably laid by this individual's mates. And he was still calling out for more mates while waiting over this egg clutch.

Canon 500D, Canon 100mm Macro USM
SS 1/200
Av 14
ISO 400
Cropped to remove empty space at the right. I would have liked more space above and below, but this image is full frame on the longer side. I would also have liked to try a narrower aperture. However, I didn't click too many images as I wanted to avoid driving the frog away.

The call of this frog sounds almost bird-like. Audio here: http://www.indiawilds.com/forums/sho...Jog-Night-Frog

[Mrudul Godbole]

Interesting behavior observed and captured . With the full light, the eggs can be seen clearly. Good details in the eye. Thanks for sharing.

[Bibhav Behera]

Lovely documentation of behaviour. Look forward to more. TFS

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Lovely. Great to see the eggs as well as developing tadpoles inside. This image gives us an idea about its habitat as well as its behaviour. At what height was the leaf above ground level? Thanks for sharing.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Thanks all.
Sabyasachi- The leaf was about 1.5 ft above a small stream flowing through a roadside trench.
Attaching a record image of the same shrub. This was shot in the morning when these frogs are not active. (We marked this spot on a GPS and returned the following night to check out the frog.)

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice frame abhishek and a good write up... very intresting

TFS
Roopak