(Hyla versicolor)
Conservation Status | IUCN Red List |
LC - Least Concern |
![]() |
||||
NatureServe |
N5 - Secure S5 - Secure |
||||||
Minnesota |
not listed |
||||||
Occurrence | Common |
||||||
Habitat | Forest edges, wooded areas near permanent or temporary waters. Near street lamps and lighted buildings at night. |
||||||
Lifespan | Unknown. Probably 5 to 7 years. |
||||||
Size | 1¼″ to |
||||||
Photo by Bill Reynolds | |||||||
Identification | This is a small, solitary, nocturnal frog. It is 1¼″ to The upper (dorsal) surface is warty. There are usually dark blotches outlined in black. The background color can change in seconds from green, light grayish-green, gray, brown, or dark brown. The color is determined by the color of the background, the season, and the humidity. It is most often some shade of gray. There is usually a large, irregular, dark blotch on the back. Beneath each eye there is a large spot, white and prominent on males, olive and less noticeable on females. The belly is white. On females the chin is pale olive-gray. On males the chin is darker gray. The toes end in large adhesive pads. On males, the lower (ventral) side of the hind legs is bright yellow or yellowish-orange. |
||||||
Voice | A slow trill lasting 1 to 3 seconds, not varying in pitch |
||||||
Similar Species |
Cope’s gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) is almost indistinguishable morphologically. The dorsal surface is not as rough and is more often unblotched. If blotched, the blotches are often not outlined in black. The only reliable ways to distinguish between the two species is by listening to their calls or examining their chromosomes under a microscope. The call of Cope's gray treefrog is a faster trill with about twice as many notes. They prefer more open habitats, including prairies and savannas. |
||||||
Tadpole Food | Algae, material from dead and decaying plants and animals (detritus). |
||||||
Adult Food | Insects, insect larvae, mites, spiders, plant lice, harvestmen, snails, and smaller frogs. |
||||||
Life Cycle | Breeding occurs from April to July, peaking in May to June. After breeding, the female will deposit 450 to 600 packets of 30 to 40 eggs each on emergent vegetation at the surface of a shallow pond or a permanent or temporary pool. The eggs hatch in about three weeks and metamorphosis occurs about four weeks later. The tadpole is about 2″ long preceding metamorphosis. Adults live 5 to 7 years. They overwinter under the shelter of a log, rock, bark, or leaf litter. They are freeze tolerant and can survive multiple freeze-thaw cycles. Glycerine is produced preventing the formation of ice crystals in vital organs. |
||||||
Behavior | Adults are usually found high in trees, on mossy or lichen-covered fences, or sometimes in abandoned bird houses. They are rarely found on the ground except in breeding season. During breeding season the adult’s background color is usually green. |
||||||
Distribution | ![]() |
||||||
Comments | Taxonomy |
||||||
Taxonomy | Superorder: |
Batrachia (amphibians) |
|||||
Order: |
Anura (frogs and toads) |
||||||
Suborder: |
Neobatrachia |
||||||
Superfamily: |
Hyloidea |
||||||
Family: |
Hylidae (tree frogs) |
||||||
Subfamily: |
Hylinae |
||||||
Tribe: |
Hylini |
||||||
Synonyms | Hyla versicolor phaeocrypta Hyla versicolor versicolor |
||||||
Common Names |
chameleon treefrog common gray treefrog eastern gray treefrog gray treefrog |
||||||
Visitor Photos |
|||
Share your photo of this amphibian. |
|||
Kirk Nelson |
|||
![]() |
|||
Brian Blom |
|||
Gray Tree Frog on Sedum |
|||
![]() |
|||
Gray Tree Frog on Wild Rice |
|||
![]() |
|||
Wityman |
|||
Found around 8am on our patio table |
|||
![]() |
|||
Randy |
|||
Gray tree frog perched in a bald cypress at marsh's edge, Freeborn County, Minn., June 2017 |
|||
![]() |
![]() |
||
Bill Reynolds |
|||
![]() |
|||
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
|||
Slideshows |
||
Hyla versicolor (Eastern Gray Treefrog) Allen Chartier |
||
![]() |
||
Hyla versicolor krloucks |
||
![]() |
||
About
Gray Treefrog |
||
Visitor Videos |
||
Share your video of this amphibian. |
||
Other Videos |
||
Gray Treefrog & Cope's Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor & Hyla chrysoscelis) WisCBMnetwork |
||
About
Published on Apr 30, 2012 No description available. |
||
Gray treefrog calling TSTPtv |
||
About
Published on Oct 13, 2013 Did you ever want to know what a Gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor) sounds like? |
||
Gray/Grey treefrog (Hyla versicolor) calling: Video Ryan M. Bolton |
||
About
Uploaded on May 23, 2007 Gray treefrog calling. |
||
Eastern gray treefrog calling HerpNet |
||
About
Uploaded on Mar 20, 2009 Eastern gray treefrog calling |
||
Visitor Sightings |
||||
Share your sighting of this amphibian. |
||||
Kirk Nelson 9/4/2017 |
Location: Lebanon Hills Regional Park |
|||
Brian Blom 8/25/2017 |
Location: Crow Wing County, Deerwood Gray Tree Frog on Sedum |
|||
Wityman 7/2/2017 |
Location: LeSueur county, by Lake Washington Found around 8am on our patio table |
|||
Randy June, 2017 |
Location: Freeborn County, MN Gray tree frog perched in a bald cypress at marsh's edge, Freeborn County, Minn., June 2017 |
|||
Bill Reynolds 6/22/2013 |
Location: Pennington Co., MN |
|||
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
||||
|
||||
Last Updated: