Bird-voiced Treefrog

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Bird-voiced Treefrogs inhabit wooded swamplands of the south, where they can be heard calling during spring and summer. I have found several on my current trip to southern Illinois.

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This is a small species growing to 1-1/8 inches to 1-3/4 inches long. It is usually has a dark, irregular pattern and a pale grey or brown on its dorsal surface, but its color changes with the temperature and its level of activity, and may it sometimes be pale green.

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The Bird-voiced Treefrog is found over much of the southeastern United States. Its favored habitat is wooded swamps near streams and rivers. It blends in very well with the tree trunks where it usually hangs out.

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They have large toe pads with adhesive, or sticky, disks on the tips of their toes. They allso have bright “flash colors” on their thighs (which are hidden when the frog is at rest) to visually confuse predators.

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They are a highly arboreal species, climbing high into tree and are opportunistic feeders. Their diet consists mainly of spiders and small insects. They are nocturnal and forage for food primarily in trees at night time.

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The Bird-voiced Treefrog’s call is a series of piping, bird-like whistles, which occur in rapid succession. This frog is listed as “threatened” in Illinois, where I found the examples in this blog post.

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