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Voice: Call is a short high trill, a little more musical than the Cope's Gray Treefrog, and slower. Pulse rate varies from 17-35 pulses/sec. We have heard them call from May though July. The few records we have are from west Tennessee. In this recording a slow trill versicolor call (21 pulses/sec) alternates with a fast trill chrysoscelis (53 pulses/sec). Habitat: Outside of the breeding season these frogs are arboreal, foraging in the tree canopy. Range: The range of the gray treefrogs in Tennessee is not well known. We have only recorded calls that indicate Hyla versicolor in the western part of the state.
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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 Cope's Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis).
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.