Yard Critter of the Week - Northern Gray Tree Frog

Northern Gray Tree Frog.

(Non-gray variety.)

Scientific name: Hyla versicolor.

(Versicolor = "many colors".)

This is a young one which Patty found on the Mountain Mint in our back garden. And which she promptly captured. You can tell if is a tree frog by the pads on its toes.

It is tiny.

We had at first thought (wished!) that it was a Pine Barrens Tree Frog, which would have been a new species for the yard. But it was not to be.

It is still cool to have found a juvenile of a resident frog we hear throughout the spring, often clinging to the side of our house.

🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸

There are two gray tree frog species in New Jersey, the Northern Gray Tree Frog and the Southern Gray Tree Frog (aka Cope's Tree Frog). They look exactly alike and are usually distinguished by their calls, the southern being the more raspy of the two.

You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.