View allAll Photos Tagged BAJAS
The dark eye stripe does not change, but the body color and dark markings can quickly change from dark to light, and the body color itself can also change, typically from brown to green or vice versa or a combination of both, in response to environmental conditions.
A study of Hyla (Pseuacris) regilla in Washington concluded that "H. regilla has control over and can change its hue, chroma, and lightness during time periods on the order of minutes." ..."...we support the idea that physiological color change has evolved as a mechanism to allow rapid background matching as a tree frog moves from one location to another."
(James C. Stegen et al. The control of color change in the Pacific tree frog, Hyla regilla. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2004, Vol. 82, No. 6)