Back to Name Page                          Back to Sound ID Page                        Back to Sight ID Page
Cope's Gray Treefrog  
Hyla chrysoscelis
 
Description: Size 1.2-2 inches (record 2.4 inches).  A medium sized treefrog with expanded toe pads and a pale spot beneath the eye.  Its back is mottled with a varying pattern of grays and greens.  Cannot be distinguished visually from the Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor).  The two gray treefrogs can only be separated by the analysis of the pulse rate of their call, corrected to a standard temperature, or by an analysis of their chromosomes.  Both have apricot orange flash colors.  Flash colors are found on the inside of 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.  

Voice: Call is a short raspy trill on one pitch.  Call is similar to Hyla versicolor but the pulse rate is faster for a given temperature (34-69 pulses/sec).  We have heard them call from late March through October.  Calling peaks May through July.  This call is  quite common in the summer in a wide variety of habitats.  They also make a short aggressive barking call which some people confuse with the Barking Treefrog.

Habitat: Occurs in a wide variety of habitats.  They breed in small ponds and are often found breeding in swimming pools, rain barrels and similar structures.  Outside of the breeding season they are arboreal, foraging in the tree canopy.

Range: The relative distribution of the two gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis and Hyla versicolor) is not well known. We have found Hyla chrysoscelis to be common statewide.  Identification based on pulse rate analysis that we have conducted has so far shown versicolor to occur only in west Tennessee.