I was photographing this Common River Frog in the small water feature in our garden. Imagine my surprise when it blinked!

River-frog-blinking

Suddenly it closed its eyes and blinked!

I have since learned that frogs close their eyes when they eat. Apparently, retracting their eyes helps them to swallow by pushing food along towards the esophagus. So perhaps, rather than blinking at me, it was simply swallowing hard?

Common River Frog in suburban garden

It opened its eyes again and continued watching me intently

This is an extremely attractive frog. The light stripe down the spine serves to break up the shape and sometimes the stripe resembles the stem of an aquatic plant such as a waterlily. I hope I have identified it correctly. Its scientific name is Afrana angolensis (also known as Amietia angolensis). Its call is a rather charming sequence of rattling sounds followed by a short croak.

Common River Frog in suburban garden pond, South Africa

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Posted by Carol

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