I will confess to a serious love of these green tree frogs. Once I learned to spot them on a palm frond or cattail, I find myself searching (and finding) them all the time. I love the way they cling to the back of a reed and pretend they’re invisible.
The scientific name for these guys is hyla cinerea. Here’s a link to the University of Georgia’s fact page about green tree frogs.
We have several species of frogs out here, and eventually we’ll get to each one in a video. There were green tree frogs mixed in with the calling spadefoot toads earlier this spring. These frogs are relatively slender and can be 1-2″ in length. Frogs that have newly morphed from tadpoles can be even smaller! (The one on the wood below is smaller than my fingertip!) Their skin is smooth and often almost shiny, and they sometimes have small yellow dots on their backs. They’re most active at night, so during the day, they are often trying to blend inconspicuously with their surroundings.
Green tree frogs have large toe pads for clinging (check out the one on the palm front below).
