Tree frogs are equipped with sticky toe pads that help them climb both vertically and horizontally with ease. This silhouette drawing of a tree frog was drawn in pen.
An interesting call sounds in the woods. The call is a loud trill that sounds a lot like a raccoon or some sort of bird. But no mammal with a bushy stripped tail nor feathered figure is to be seen in the still leaves and dappled light of late afternoon.
But someone is there. Hidden in a tangle of branches somewhere in the understory is a tree frog. The small wide-eyed amphibian wearing a blotchy pattern of green and gray with freckled black lines sits on a branch. The frog inflates its throat into a dark bubble and belts out a song, the trill. The song is bigger than the frog itself.
There are two tree frog species that I regularly hear in woodlands: the eastern gray tree frog and the Cope’s gray tree frog. Telling the difference between the two is pretty much impossible when relying purely on visual cues, but the frogs’ calls allow for differentiation. The slower, more raccoon-like trill belongs to the eastern gray tree frog. The trill of the Cope’s gray tree frog is similar but faster and at a higher pitch.
The green and gray coloring that these arboreal frogs wear makes for impressive camouflage, allowing the frogs to resemble chunks of tree bark or leaves. The coloring also changes depending on the environment. When the tree frogs rest, they tuck their long legs underneath their bodies, becoming as small and as inconspicuous as possible. In this covert position, they catch up on some sleep, resting their nocturnal beings for a night of activity.
As late afternoon transitions into night, more tree frogs, both eastern gray and Cope’s gray, can be heard. Their trills come from not only the woods’ understory but also higher up in the canopy. Sticky toe pads aid the tree frogs’ travels, allowing the amphibians to navigate vertical heights and unsteady horizontal stretches with ease. With this ability and the ability to clear a considerable distance with every hop, the tree frogs position themselves throughout the woods, enriching the landscape simply by being their fascinating selves.