“What kind of tree frogs can you find in Virginia?“

Tree Frogs are interesting animals that have adapted to all sorts of habitat niches. And while they are common, they are MUCH harder to find than your “typical” frogs that live in lakes and ponds. For example, a tree frog could literally be right next to your head, but it may be concealed on the other side of a leaf or camouflaged perfectly to its environment.

For the sake of this article, I have included members of Hylidae, which is the family that encompasses all tree frogs in Virginia. But don’t let the name “tree frog” fool you, as species from this family are not always arboreal but can be terrestrial and semi-aquatic too!

Since tree frogs can be hard to observe, I have tried to include audio samples for each species. Listening is sometimes the BEST (or only) way to locate each species. 🙂

8 Types of Tree Frogs in Virginia:

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#1. Spring Peeper

• Pseudacris crucifer

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults are small and range from 1 to 1.5 inches long.
• They’re typically tan or brown, with the females being lighter in color.
• Both males and females usually feature a dark cross or ‘X’ on their back.

 

These tiny tree frogs can be found all over Virginia.

 

You’ll typically find Spring Peepers on the forest floor among the leaves. However, they do have large toe pads that they use for climbing trees.

Spring Peeper Range Map

You can find them in ponds and small bodies of water in the spring, where they breed and lay eggs. After hatching, the young tree frogs remain in the tadpole stage for about three months before leaving the water.

 

Spring Peepers get their name from their distinctive spring chorus. They’re thought to sound like the “peep” of baby chickens. You are most likely to hear them in early spring! LISTEN BELOW!

 

Their calls are very distinctive, and these tree frogs are easy to identify by sound.

 

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#2. Gray Tree Frog

• Dryophytes versicolor

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adult body lengths range from 1.5 to 2 inches.
• Mottled gray, green, and brown coloring. Look for a whitish spot beneath each eye.
• Bumpy skin, short snouts, and bright orange on the undersides of their legs.

 

This incredible tree frog can slowly change colors to match what it’s sitting on to camouflage itself. And you thought chameleons were the only animal that can change colors! They vary from gray to green or brown. It’s common for their back to display a mottled coloring, much like lichen.

 

Gray Tree Frogs are ubiquitous throughout Virginia. You’ll spot them in a wide variety of wooded habitats, from backyards to forests to swamps.

Gray Tree Frog Range Map

They stick to the treetops until it’s time to breed. Gray Tree Frogs prefer to mate and lay eggs in woodland ponds without fish. They’ll also use swamps and garden water features.

 

Gray Tree Frogs are easier to hear than to see.

Listen for a high trill that lasts about 1 second, commonly heard in spring and summer.

 

*Gray Tree Frogs are essentially identical to Cope’s Gray Tree Frogs. The only way to tell the difference is to listen to their breeding calls. You can learn more by visiting this site.*

 

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#3. Northern Cricket Frog

• Acris crepitans

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults from 0.75 to 1.5 inches long.
• Irregular color patterns including grays, greens, browns, yellows, and blacks.
• A dark triangular spot between the eyes, blunt snout, warts, and dark banding on the legs.
• Also referred to as the Eastern Cricket Frog.

 

Although Northern Cricket Frogs are part of the tree frog family, they don’t spend much time in trees. Typically you can find them in ponds and lakes with plentiful vegetation as well as slow-moving rivers.

 

These tree frogs are extremely small. In fact, they are one of the smallest vertebrates you will find in Virginia!

 

Northern Cricket Frog Range Map

 

But even though they are tiny, they can jump over 3 FEET in a single jump to escape predators, in addition to being excellent swimmers.

 

This tree frog gets its name from its unique call. As you can probably guess, the Northern Cricket Frog makes a breeding call that sounds like the repeating chirp of a cricket.

 

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#4. Blanchard’s Cricket Frog

• Acris blanchardi

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults range from 0.6 to 1.5 inches long.
• Warty skin is typically tan, brown, olive green, or gray with darker banding on the legs.
• Dark triangular mark between the eyes.

 

These tree frogs can be found in or near permanent bodies of water in Virginia, including bogs, lakes, ponds, marshes, and slow-moving rivers and streams. They can also sometimes be spotted in temporary bodies of water such as flooded fields and drainage ditches as long as there is a permanent water source nearby.

Blanchard’s Cricket Frog Range Map

 

Interestingly, although they are in the “tree frog” family, Blanchard’s Cricket Frogs spend most of their time on the ground and in the water.

 

Unfortunately, they are declining in parts of their range and are considered threatened. They face habitat loss, chemical contamination, and competition for resources. Another pressure these tree frogs face is their short life span, as the average individual only lives one year.

 

Males make unique, repetitive, metallic breeding calls.

 

The calls are thought to sound like two pebbles or marbles being clicked together.

 

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#5. American Green Tree Frog

• Dryophytes cinereus

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults can grow up to 2.5 inches long and have smooth skin.
• Yellowish-green to lime green with pale yellow or white undersides.
• White stripes down their sides sometimes have black borders.

 

Even though they are common in their range, Green Tree Frogs can be hard to find since they spend most of their lives high in trees.

American Green Tree Frog Range Map

During mating season, they visit ponds, lakes, marshes, and streams to breed and lay eggs. They prefer bodies of water with a lot of vegetation. They also can change color based on light and temperature.

 

Their breeding call is a repeated, abrupt, nasal “bark.“ Sound is typically the best way to locate these tree frogs in Virginia.

 

Green Tree Frogs are often kept as pets. They are popular because of their attractive appearance, size, and how easy it is to take care of them. For example, they don’t require artificial heating like most amphibians. But being nocturnal, it’s unlikely you will see them moving around much, so they are probably not the most exciting pets!

 

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#6. Pine Woods Tree Frog

• Dryophytes femoralis

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults range from 1 to 1.5 inches long.
• Mottled coloring including browns, grays, reddish-browns, and grayish-greens with dark markings on the back.
• Yellow, orange, or white dots can be seen on the back of the thigh when the leg is extended.

 

You’ll find the Pine Woods Tree Frog in Virginia in pine flatwoods, pine-oak forests, and cypress swamps. Spending most of their time high in the trees, they have large sticky toe pads and minimally webbed feet.

Pine Woods Tree Frog Range Map

During the breeding season, you can spot them in or near fish-free bodies of water, including shallow ponds, marshes, wetlands, cypress swamps, and ditches. The female lays eggs in shallow water where the tadpoles will live for about two months as they change into tree frogs.

 

Pine Woods Tree Frogs give a unique sporadic or staccato chattering mating call which has earned it the nickname “the Morse code frog.”

 

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#7. Barking Tree Frog

• Dryophytes gratiosus

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults range from 2 to 2.8 inches long.
• Most often bright green, but may also be gray, brown, or yellowish with dark spots on its back.
• Uniformly rough skin with light stripes down its sides.

 

This species is the largest tree frog native to Virginia!

 

Barking Tree Frog Range Map

You can spot Barking Tree Frogs in various woodland habitats where they spend most of their time in trees and bushes. During the breeding season, they visit fishless wetlands where the female will lay her eggs. They also sometimes burrow into mud or rotten logs where they’re protected from predators.

 

These tree frogs are named for their explosive, loud “tonk” call, which is repeated every 1-2 seconds.

 

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#8. Squirrel Tree Frog

• Dryophytes squirellus

Identifying Characteristics:

• Adults are around 1.5 inches long.
• Typically green, although individuals may be varying shades of yellow or brown with white or brown blotching.
• The upper lip is often yellowish, and they sometimes feature whitish stripes.

 

These small tree frogs are found in southeastern Virginia in a variety of urbanized and natural habits.

 

Squirrel Tree Frog Range Map

They can be seen on trees and buildings, in backyards, pine-oak forests, hardwood forests, floodplains, and pine flat woods. You might even find them visiting your porch to catch bugs that are attracted to the lights!

 

To breed, they visit wetlands like ephemeral pools, roadside ditches, and other small water bodies that lack predatory fish.

 

During the breeding season, you may hear Squirrel Tree Frogs giving a raspy, duck-like call.

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Do you need additional help identifying tree frogs?

Try this field guide!

• Peterson Field Guides to Reptiles and Amphibians

 

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Which of these tree frogs have you seen in Virginia?

 

Leave a comment below!

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