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Green treefrog

Hyla cinerea · Frogs and toads · Amphibians

Green treefrog (Hyla cinerea): Bright yellow-green back (sometimes yellowish, gray or reddish-brown), often with small golden spots. White or yellowish stripe along the jaw, side of the body and leg (may be reduced). This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Hyla cinerea
Family
Hylidae
In North America
Native
Range
Coastal Plain from Delaware to southern Florida and west to south-central Texas; north to southeastern Oklahoma, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois and Indiana, western Kentucky and Tennessee and northern Alabama. Introduced in south-central Missouri, northwestern Puerto Rico and Brownsville, Texas. Not in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Bright yellow-green back (sometimes yellowish, gray or reddish-brown), often with small golden spots. [1][2]

White or yellowish stripe along the jaw, side of the body and leg (may be reduced). [1][2]

Smooth skin, long legs, large rounded toe tips; 34-64 mm, females larger. [1][2]

Breeding male has gray or pinkish throat; call is a loud 'queenk' about 80 times a minute. [1][2]

Compared with the squirrel treefrog: Smaller (about 3 cm), greenish to brown, often blotched, with a nasal 'rain' call. [1][2]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a green treefrog before you act. Compared with the squirrel treefrog: Smaller (about 3 cm), greenish to brown, often blotched, with a nasal 'rain' call.[1][2]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Swamps, marshes and pond, lake and slow-stream margins with abundant floating and emergent vegetation. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Most active on warm, rainy nights; often inactive in colder months in the north. [1][2]

Climbs vegetation to catch insects, sometimes near lights at night. [1][2]

Hundreds may aggregate at breeding pools in April-August; males also give alarm and rain calls. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Coastal Plain from Delaware to southern Florida and west to south-central Texas; north to southeastern Oklahoma, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois and Indiana, western Kentucky and Tennessee and northern Alabama. Introduced in south-central Missouri, northwestern Puerto Rico and Brownsville, Texas. Not in Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology