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Bird-voiced Treefrog  
Hyla avivoca 
 
Description: Size 1.2-1.7 inches, (record 2.1 inches).  A medium sized treefrog similar in appearance to the gray treefrogs.  It has expanded toe pads and a  pale spot beneath the eye.  Its back is mottled with a varying pattern of grays and greens.  Closer inspection reveals flash colors that are lime-colored, unlike the gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis and Hyla versicolor) whose flash colors are orange.  Flash colors are found on the thighs and are hidden when the frog is at rest.  The sudden appearance of the flash colors when the frog leaps is thought to confuse predators.  Most easily told from the gray treefrogs by its distinctive and beautiful call.

Voice: Call is a series of high whistles, a little like someone whistling for their dog.  It also resembles in pitch and tempo (but not in timbre) the call of a pileated woodpecker.  Calling usually begins in mid-April and continues through early August, with a peak May through July.

Habitat: Found in bottomland sloughs and swamps along major rivers and large creeks.

Range: Occurs in the Coastal Plain of the state and has extended its range into the Cumberland River Valley.