In the spring of 2000 I found a floating mass of Bullfrog eggs in my brother's pond and decided to scoop out some of them and put them inside a floating wire basket in my garden pond. They hatched in a matter of days, and by the end of the summer the tadpoles were 2 - 3 inches long, so I dumped them into the pond, and for several years after there were bullfrogs everywhere in my yard. This frog, unlike many of the others, grew to a huge size very soon after he transformed. One day I was in my yard and heard a lot of splashing so I went to have a look, and was amazed to see this frog wrestling with a full grown starling. I watched in fascination as the frog used his front legs to slowly shove the bird down its throat, then realized I should have retrieved a camera to record this moment for posterity. I told several people about the gluttonous frog and got the old "Yeah, Ok..." and an eyeroll from them.
Then a few weeks later, I just happened to be near the pond when a group of starlings came in for a drink, and no sooner than they had landed the bullfrog jumped out of the plants and took one of the starlings underwater. I ran into the house and grabbed my camera, and took several pictures. Here's one:
He sat there very still for a long time and I got bored waiting for him to finish his meal, so I went back to working in the yard. A few hours later I checked on him and he had once again managed to swallow the entire bird! I knew bullfrogs would eat anything that would fit in their mouths, but a full grown starling?
