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The Ornate Burrowing Frog
 When
there's been heavy rain and the cane fields become flooded,
this is the time to find two of the ground-dwelling frogs:
the Ornate Burrowing frog and the Marbled Burrowing frog.
The Ornate Burrowing frog (Limnodynastes ornatus) is
pale tan with darker spotting and often has a distinctive
yellow stripe running down the centre of the back. It's about
40mm (under 2 inches) long, is a darker base colour with very
dark spots and a pale grey, granite-like pattern on its sides.
When the Marbled Burrowing frog (L. convexiusculus)
is stressed, it flushes to almost black in colour. Both of
these frogs with their stocky bodies and short legs can be
seen sitting or floating in the water. The calls of both these
frogs are quite soft and consist of a single, short note.
The Ornate Burrowing frog call sounds like a tennis ball being
hit. The Marbled Burrowing frog sounds like a child saying
the word, "bark!".
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Some
of the most impressive frogs are the White-lipped Tree frogs
which can reach over 130 mm (5 ½ inches) in length.
(In frogs, length is measured from the tip of the snout to
the vent - the legs are not included.) 
One
of the world's favourite frogs is the Common Green Tree frog
(Litoria caerulea) which is called White's Tree frog
in the USA. Even as an adult of 90mm (3 ½ inches) in
size, the Green Tree frog always retains its gentle baby face.
It is probably the most commonly kept frog in Australia and
has been kept for decades overseas. It is often found around
houses, especially in outdoor loos (bathrooms) and in gutter
pipes. Sometimes these frogs are found in mailboxes and moved,
only to be found in the same mailbox a few days later. L.
caerulea actually has a 'homing instinct'. 
When
driving along northern roads at night, there are two spectacular
jumpers that are frequently seen in your headlights. Both
of these frogs can clear the width of a lane in each jump.
Both are nearly the same size - more than 60 mm (2 ½
inches) for females and roughly 40 mm (under 2 inches) for
males. The brown striped one with the very pointed snout is
called the Rocket frog. The other one is the Stoney Creek
frog which is chocolate brown with a pointed snout and a very
dark stripe through the eye that reaches just past the arm.
The Stoney Creek frog (Litoria lesueuri) also has vibrant
black and yellow spotting on the back of its thighs. The males
change their entire body colour to banana yellow when they
are ready to mate! You can find the Stoney Creek frog in just
about any creek that has a rocky bottom, however, the Rocket
frog (Litoria nasuta) seems to have a preference for
flooded roadsides and cane fields.
Another
of the impressive rainforest frogs is a ground dweller which
burrows under the soil. In tropical Queensland, this species
is about to be split into three separate species but, for
now, it is referred to as the Northern Barred frog (Mixophyes
schevilli). This is a heavy set brown frog with darker
brown blotches on its back and face which helps it blend
in with the leaf litter it hides in. Unlike most frogs,
the pupil is hardly visible in the Barred frog so the eye
appears entirely dark. However, the juveniles have a crimson
upper iris. The legs are heavily striped with dark bars,
hence its common name, and the call is a deep, gutteral
"wonk". The Barred frog (in its present taxonomic
status) occurs from the coastal lowlands at sea level all
the way up to the mountaintops and, aside from its impressive
bulk and excellent jumping ability, it also has the distinction
of producing Australia's largest and longest lived tadpoles.
The high altitude populations of M. schevilli produce tadpoles
which are 150mm (6 inches) long and which require two years
to metamorph! 
There
are some frogs that prefer a drier habitat. Visitors to the
Townsville area or the western reaches of the Atherton Tablelands
might notice a very round frog with short feet that emerges
from the ground only after heavy rains. This frog is called
the Short-footed Waterholding frog (Cyclorana brevipes) and
it has a yellow-beige background colour with broken brown
stripes or blotches down its back. Waterholding frogs survive
the dry months by encasing themselves in a 'plastic bag' made
from their skin. They 'hibernate' in this bag until the heavy
rains return. Once water reaches their bag (sending the signal
that conditions above are good for breeding), they climb back
to the surface, swallow the bag and breed quickly before the
waters dry up again.