Gray Tree Frog in Its Green Coat

 When an animal has a specific color in its name, you expect it to be that color, but that isn't always the case. Take, for example, the Gray Tree Frog. This small climbing frog can be brownish-gray, bright green or any shade in between those two extremes. In fact, its Latin name is Hyla versicolor  (or Dryophytes versicolor) which means many colored tree frog or changing color tree frog. 

Gray Tree Frog (Hyla versicolor/ Dryophytes versicolor)
from WhatLivesinMyYard.Blogspot.com
Photo: Brad Sylvester, all rights reserved

Tree frogs are climbers. They climb trees (and houses) using the sticky pads found on the end of each of their toes. It is thought that they climb to escape predators like snakes which mostly live on the ground in the range of the Gray Tree Frog. The toe pads provide a suction-cup adhesion that lets them stick to smooth surfaces. For rougher surfaces, the tree frog can still climb by wrapping its legs around to the sides or back of smaller branches and gripping. The gripping pressure is created by using its muscles to provide opposing pressure to both sides of the branch. By using both gripping pressure and suction cup adhesion, the gray tree frog is able to climb faster than it could using either one of the methods alone.

Tree frogs mate and lay eggs in the water of ponds or vernal pools. The eggs will be attached to underwater plants. They will hatch as tadpoles and live in the water until they grow legs and can live on land. Once they leave the water, they spend most of their time in trees, except when hibernating in the winter. They tend to hibernate under leaf litter or hidden under tree roots. During the active warmer months, they may hide in the deep crevices of tree bark. They are usually found in moist environments.

Gray Tree Frog with Suction Cup Toes
Photo: Brad Sylvester, all rights reserved

During a rain, they may move from place to place without fear of drying out. That's why they're most often seen on rainy evenings. The Gray Tree Frog shown in these photos was found right next to my front door on the siding of my house during a light rain when I came home after dark in early August.

The tree frog calls out by inflating its throat like a big bubble and using the released air to create a surprisingly loud trilling sound. 

Gray Tree Frog tadpoles mostly eat plant matter and detritus in the water. Once they leave the water as adults, they are insectivores. They'll eat most small insects that can be swallowed in one gulp such as ants, crickets, beetles, flies, and even small moths.

The Gray Tree Frog measures 1-2 inches long as an adult. They have a distinctly bumpy skin unlike some of the smoother frog species.

Taxonomy of the Gray Tree Frog

KingdomAnimalia

PhylumChordata

ClassAmphibia

OrderAnura

FamilyHylidae

GenusDryophytes

SpeciesDryophytes versicolor