View allAll Photos Tagged graytreefrog
I couldn't get as close because he was getting impatient with me by this point, which is why his adorable little treefrog toes are no longer tucked underneath. He was giving serious consideration to leaving. The white patch beneath the eye is characteristic of both species. I think it's more likely this guy is H. versicolor because of where he was found (versicolor is more likely farther north), his rough skin, and his size (didn't measure, seemed close to 6cm), but none of those is reliable. Even if he'd been singing his little amphibious heart out, I wouldn't know which he was; for me, he'd have to sing, "Helloooo, I am Hyla (versicolor/chrysoscelis)..." :) Apparently, the song sounds something like a red-bellied woodpecker (and there are lots of those in the area ) so perhaps some of the woodpeckers I'd been hearing around there weren't woodpeckers at all.
I got out of bed at about 2AM this morning for a drink of water and found this little guy at our front porch window. It should be a good place for a late night snack as the porch light attracts so many insects.
July 22, 2017
We found a young grey tree frog (Hyla versicolor) sitting quietly in the grass. She eventually made it to the trunk of an old pear tree where she blended in perfectly with the rough bark.
The younger grey tree frogs are bright green. They eventually turn a very light mottled grey color with the appearance of maple bark or a light piece of granite. This one still has a very faint hint of green on her skin.
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2017
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 6s.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
A North American Common Grey Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor), showing the identifying orange underside of its rear legs.
Find out more about tree frogs and the other Amphibians and Reptiles found in New Hampshire at:
Cope's Gray Treefrog - Hyla chrysoscelis (male and female, clasping)
Location: Durham NC (USA)
This pair was found out on a road adjacent to a breeding site in the gutter of a suburban street. Note they have eggs adhering to them.
Identification notes:
The visually identical Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) does not occur in my area--the lower Piedmont of the Carolinas (Dodd, Dorcas and Gibbons, Martof). The two can be differentiated by call--chrysoscelis has shorter and harsher trill (30-65 notes per second) than versicolor (16-35 notes per second). I have recorded them at this site--all chrysoscelis.
References
- Dodd, Amphibians and Reptiles of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Univ. Tennessee Press, 2004), pp. 225-8
- Dorcas and Gibbons, Frogs and Toads of the Southeast (Univ. Georgia Press, 2008), pp. 87-91
- Martof et al., Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia (UNC Press, 1980), pp. 115-6
It's a bit fuzzy because it is shot through a few layers of glass, but I love the pose.
I don't know which species this is around here ( there are two species with identical morphology) as it involves either karyotyping or hearing the call and knowing the temperature of the calling individual. You can hear a recording of this species here: www.alanwolf.org/frog-calls.
Tree Frog (Hylidae family) / September, Habersham Co., Georgia, USA / Copyright ©2019 by William Tanneberger - All Rights Reserved.
Eastern Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor)
Rural Habersham Co., GA (Homewoods)
Wabash County, Indiana
Gray Treefrog found in a nature preserve. This was the natural stance when found.
I planted the milkweed to feed the caterpillars of Monarch butterflies, and this little dude is on common milkweed, therefore, he must be a very strange-looking caterpillar, right?
Cope's Gray Treefrog - Hyla chrysoscelis (male and female, clasping)
Location: Durham NC (USA)
This pair was found out on a road adjacent to a breeding site in the gutter of a suburban street. Note they have eggs adhering to them.
Identification notes:
The visually identical Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) does not occur in my area--the lower Piedmont of the Carolinas (Dodd, Dorcas and Gibbons, Martof). The two can be differentiated by call--chrysoscelis has shorter and harsher trill (30-65 notes per second) than versicolor (16-35 notes per second). I have recorded them at this site in the past--all chrysoscelis.
References
- Dodd, Amphibians and Reptiles of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Univ. Tennessee Press, 2004), pp. 225-8
- Dorcas and Gibbons, Frogs and Toads of the Southeast (Univ. Georgia Press, 2008), pp. 87-91
- Martof et al., Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia (UNC Press, 1980), pp. 115-6
Amplexing gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) perched on the side of a water tank in Whitehall Forest near Athens, GA.
Eastern narrowmouth toads, and a few grey tree frogs, were calling from a roadside gutter near my house after a big rain two days ago. Yesterday there were egg masses all over one end of a little pool in the gutter. I believe they are from the Narrowmouth toads. I'm going to try to rear a few--the embryos have already changed a lot.
Update 8/29/09
I had originally thought these were Narrowmouth toads, Gastrophryne carolinensis, but my one transforming tadpole on 8/29/09 is clearly a Gray Treefrog, Hyla chrysoscelis. (This individual, unfortunately, died right as it was transforming, but the species is clear.)
July 13, 2022
A young grey tree frog in its green phase. This guy is only a couple cm long.
(Hyla versicolor)
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2022
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 11.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
I got out of bed at about 2AM this morning for a drink of water and found this little guy at our front porch window. It should be a good place for a late night snack as the porch light attracts so many insects.
A Gray Tree Frog rests at the edge of a smooth green blade, its eyes wide and alert in the soft light.
I photographed this little frog at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. It was perched calmly among the grass, unmoving but aware of its surroundings.
Though called a Gray Tree Frog, this species often appears green like this one. Their color-shifting ability helps them blend into leafy environments, making them well suited to the wetlands and woods they call home.
July 27, 2018
A
This is a young grey tree frog (hyla versicolor). These frogs can be all green, all grey or a mixture of both. The little ones I've seen are mostly green. The one adult we found was ALL grey. It looked like a rock.
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2018
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 6s.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
. . . and this is what happened to me. So I'll be absent for a few days while I metamorphose.
Incidentally, for you non-herpetologists out there, this is a gray tree frog (Hyla versicolor)
As the scientific name implies, gray tree frogs are variable in color owing to their ability to camouflage themselves from gray to green, depending on the substrate where they are sitting. The degree of mottling varies.[3] They can change from nearly black to nearly white. They change color at a slower rate than a chameleon. Dead gray tree frogs and ones in unnatural surroundings are predominantly gray. The female does not croak and has a white throat; however, the male does croak and has a black/gray throat. The female is usually larger than the male.
They are relatively small compared to other North American frog species, typically attaining no more than 1.5 to 2 in (3.8 to 5.1 cm). Their skin has a lumpy texture to it, giving them a warty appearance. They are virtually indistinguishable from the Cope's gray tree frog, H. chrysoscelis, the only readily noticeable difference being their calls. Cope's gray tree frog has a shorter, faster call.[4] The gray tree frog also has an extra set of chromosomes (4N), or 48 in total, and is called tetraploid gray tree frog in scientific circles. The Cope's gray tree frog, or diploid gray tree frog, retained its 2N (24) original chromosome set. Hybridization between these species results in early mortality of many larvae, but some individuals survive to adulthood though they have reduced fertility.[5]
Both H. chrysoscelis and H. versicolor have bright-yellow patches on their hind legs, which distinguishes them from other tree frogs, such as H. avivoca.[6] The bright patches are normally only visible while the frog is jumping. Both species of gray tree frogs are slightly sexually dimorphic. Males have black or gray throats, while the throats of the females are lighter.[7]
Tadpoles have rounded bodies (as opposed to the more elongated bodies of stream species) with high, wide tails that can be colored red if predators are in the system. Metamorphosis can occur as quickly as two months with optimal conditions. At metamorphosis, the new froglets will almost always turn green for a day or two before changing to the more common gray. Young frogs will also sometimes maintain a light green color and turn gray or darker green after reaching adulthood.
Went out at night and found this Gray Tree Frog on my driveway. Put him on a plant to get him out of harm's way...took a few shots. Returned 15 minutes later to find a rather drastic color shift. Less Driveway, More Plant.
I have never seen one so small before. I didn't have anything on me to stick in the shot for comparison. Rugosa Rose leaves was the best I could do ;) In all the years here, I have never been lucky enough to see them mate or find their eggs.
I'm finding little tree frogs and peepers everywhere. Snuggled in the leaves they can easily be overlooked. It's interesting they turn away from me each time I try to get a picture of their faces. Might be they are a bit worried that a giant has picked them up and moved them this way and that? Hope they are none the worse for their ordeal....it certainly makes my day when I find one :) Young Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor or Hyla chrysoscelis).