Common Tree Frog

Jack Schmidling Productions, Inc.
18016 Church Road ~ Marengo IL 60152
Phone:815 923 0031 ~ Email:arf@mc.net

Our first encounter with the common tree frog was a real show stopper. In our rear entrance hallway, we have a glass topped table with telephone, answering machine and sundry other stuff. Sitting down one evening to check the messages shortly after moving out here, I was startled to see a little frog hanging from the bottom of the glass, looking up at me.

Browsing our field guides quickly lead us to the Gray Tree Frog or Common Tree Frog.

Last week I found this little guy hopping in the grass and had to go back to the books. The Green Tree Frog does not live this far North so I had to dig a little deeper.

The key to the mystery lies in the scientific name Hyla versicolor. This frog changes colors like a chameleon, depending on it's background.

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This one is as green as the grass I found it in and the earlier one took on a non-descript gray which seems to be its fall back color.

My little finger tip gives a good idea of the size of this little fellow.

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In this picture we can see the toes which give tree frogs the ability to not only climb trees, but stick to glass table tops and windows.

We frequently find them clinging to a window, especially after a rain.

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Here we see him inspecting his picture before approving it for publication.

Whenever he got bored posing on the set, he invariably jumped onto the computer keyboard.

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One never knows what one may find in a hanging planter.

This little tree frog is probably the most photogenic frog in this area and we add this to his album of pics.

He looks like a lump of putty in this pic but it's him.