View allAll Photos Tagged graytreefrog
Hyla versicolor......These vary from green to gray depending on the temperature....tiny frog about one inch, not quite adult size.
Hyla versicolor - We found it in our home in Carmel, New York. We took it outside, in a dish, to a nearby pond, where it hopped away.
To see how the same frog looked inside follow this link:
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, NJ.
Gray Tree frogs inhabit wooded areas near temporary and permanent waters in a wide variety of habitat including swamps, ponds, lakes, old fields, and mixed or deciduous forests.
Gray Tree frogs have the capability to camouflage themselves by changing color depending on the surface on which they have been sitting.
See more photos and read blog posts on my website at: www.pbase.com/sammyt/outdoor_and_nature_photography.
All the Gray Tree Frog tadpoles in our pond are very quickly transforming into froglets and emerging onto the water-lily leaves to hang out in the atmosphere. This one is maybe half an inch (12mm) long, and still has the remnants of its tadpole tail.
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)
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.
A Gray Tree Frog checks out electrical wires in a conduit at Shirley's Bay Ottawa. Wednesday July 3 2024.
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.
Roxbury Township, Morris County, NJ
July 29, 2016
An afternoon downpour brought out some calling tree frogs at my new-found spot.
The Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) and the Cope's Gray Tree Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis) are two species of tree frog found in the United States. They are almost indistinguishable and share much of the same geographic range, although the Cope's tends to be more southerly.
The only readily noticeable difference between the two species is the call. The Cope's has a faster-paced and slightly higher-pitched call. In addition, the Cope's is reported to be slightly smaller, more arboreal, and more tolerant of dry conditions than the Gray Treefrog.
Both tree frogs inhabit a wide range, and can be found in most of the eastern half of the United States, as far west as central Texas and Oklahoma. They also range into Canada in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba, with an isolated population in New Brunswick.
Both tree frogs are most common in forested areas, as they are highly arboreal. Their calls are often heard in rural residential areas of the East Coast and the Midwest. They prefer to breed in semi-permanent woodland ponds without fish, but also lay eggs in swamps, vernal pools, man-made fountains and water gardens, and even in rainwater filled swimming pool covers
Both species are variable in color, mottled gray to gray-green, resembling the bark of trees. They are relatively small compared to other North American frog species, typically attaining no more than 1.5 to 2 inches (3.8 - 5.1 cm) in length measured from nose to vent. Their skin has a lumpy texture, giving them a warty appearance. The female is usually larger than the male.
Both have bright-orange patches on their hind legs, which distinguishes them from other tree frogs. The bright-yellow pattern is normally hidden, but exposed when the frog leaps. This "flash pattern" likely serves to startle a predator as the frog makes its escape. Both species are slightly sexually dimorphic. Males have black or gray throats in the breeding season, while the throats of the females are lighter.
Last but not least, both 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. They can change from nearly black to nearly white. They change color at a slower rate than a chameleon. Dead frogs and ones in unnatural surroundings are predominantly gray.
ISO400, aperture f/10, exposure .003 seconds (1/400) focal length 300mm
Gray Tree Frog. These little critters are so adorable... one of my favorites! I talk to them but I don't think they speak human. My complete photo archive is available here.
May 26, 2026
I heard this grey tree frog's call coming from very close to the house. I snuck around to the fence and found him under the wysteria vine. He was very quiet once he knew I was looking at him.
(Hyla versicolor)
Brewster, Massachusetts
Cape Cod - USA
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Photo by brucetopher
© Bruce Christopher 2026
All Rights Reserved
...always learning - critiques welcome.
Tools: Canon 7D & iPhone 14.
No use without permission.
Please email for usage info.
Taken at night
Byram township, Sussex County, NJ
June 1, 2016
One of the most robust and beautiful gray tree frogs that I've encountered.
Taken at night
Roxbury Township, Morris County, NJ
July 15, 2016
The breeding activity of the tree frogs at my go-to spots in Sussex County stopped about 2 weeks ago and there isn't a frog to be heard at night. Last week while at a strip mall ( during a heavy rainfall), I heard frogs calling loudly from the woods across from the parking lot.
Tonight I went back with a camera, boots and flashlight and entered the woods. Within the woods was a swamp where I found a number of tree frogs perched on low branches calling. I can't wait to try this spot next Spring for peepers and tree frogs.
This morning when I got home from walking my dog, I found my husband climbing up onto the roof. (?)
Turns out, he was going up there to get this little tree frog, who he had seen hanging from the mouth of a grackle as it flew by. The grackle had been startled by my husband walking by, and it dropped the frog on our roof. Hence the rescue effort.
He got the frog, handed it down to me, and I put it by our pond on a log. It was nice enough to smile for a couple of photos before it hopped away.
For the past two years at one of my favorite frog ponds I have awaited the arrival of these tiny gray Tree Frogs.
Taken at night
Byram Township, Sussex County, NJ
May 24, 2016
They were late appearing in my area this year but are getting active now.
Nikon D7000
Here are several defense mechanisms at play: The frog has put its back towards anything threatening, like my big camera lens, so that a leg will be taken first by a predator, not its head. Another defense mechanism is to blend in with the forest floor. It even has some bits of leaves stuck to its back. And when I came in close, the frog stayed perfectly still so that its motion would not give its position away.
This tiny guy had nothing to fear from me. I just wanted its photo.
I spooked this Gray Tree Frog while he was sitting in the shade of a leaf and he jumped down to sit in the shade of a lower leaf.
Taken shortly after Waldo on a Snakeplant. The cage was due for a misting, so I figured I'd do it with the camera gear set up. One of two things usually happens when Waldo here gets misted, he either starts calling, Singing in the Rain, or he reacts to the movement and tries to 'eat' the water droplets as we see here.
Note that frogs don't drink through their mouths, they obtain moisture through their semi-permeable skin when they float in water or sit on damp surfaces. We get puffy wrinkly skin from sitting on a wet log too long, they are drinking through their derriere. Score one for frogs.
He was fed delicious crickets and a mealworm shortly after, in the usual 'Time for Grubs' model payment we have worked out:).
Lighting info:
-Sunpak 433d in small softbox camera right, white reflector camera left .
-Triggered with rf-602s
-Still inside his vivarium, but with the front door opened so no shooting through glass required.
Lighting regrets:
-Not having set up a back light on the left to kick off the water droplets more.
-Not loading up on ND filters to allow a full powered flash. This gives a long enough duration to get a bit of water streaking.
while i was out sweeping the parking lot at my job, I somehow managed to sweep up this little guy. Mistaking him as a piece of litter. well, Needless to say he didn't approve, hopped out of my sweeper. Letting me know he wasn't down for being insulted and compared to trash. I didn't have my camera, but I did get a lot of good cell phone camera pictures for a change.
Taken at night
Byram Township, Sussex County, NJ
June 2, 2016
A particularly beautiful dark green coloration on this specimen.
There were numerous Gray Tree Frogs (Hyla versicolor) hiding in the crevices in the bird blind at Big John's Pond near the East Pond at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (Queens, NY) during our last trip there. This one obligingly posed on a stick held by tour leader, Don Riepe. Actually, it was amazing how quickly and easily it held fast to just about everything, including clothing.
This species is highly variable in color, from green to brown. Our particular individual, about 2" in length, was, for the most part, fairly 'normal' gray.
When I was picking tomatoes this morning I was surprised and delighted to find this little smiling fellow. I didn't disturb him. We have plenty of other tomatoes.
July 27, 2018
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.