Green Treefrog: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Frogs · day 7 of 7

Five facts

1. At breeding time, male green treefrog choruses can be heard from up to two kilometres away.
2. Male green treefrogs reshape their calls to stand out, changing duration, frequency or timing when rivals call.
3. Some males stay silent and wait near calling rivals to snatch the females that come close.
4. In the southeastern US, it is the only Hyla species that regularly breeds in waters with predatory fish.
5. To compete with the invasive Cuban tree frog, green treefrogs made their calls shorter, louder and more frequent.

The quiz

1. How far away can a male chorus be heard?

• Up to two hundred metres
• Up to two kilometres (correct)
• Up to twenty kilometres
• Up to ten metres

At breeding time, male green treefrog choruses can be heard from up to two kilometres away.

2. What can a male change about his call to stand out?

• Its duration, frequency or timing (correct)
• Only its volume
• Only its colour
• Its language

Male green treefrogs reshape their calls to stand out, changing duration, frequency or timing when rivals call.

3. What do silent 'satellite' males do?

• Guard the eggs
• Sing at night only
• Chase rival males away
• Wait near callers to snatch approaching females (correct)

Some males stay silent and wait near calling rivals to snatch the females that come close.

4. What sets it apart from other Hyla in the southeast?

• It regularly breeds in waters with predatory fish (correct)
• It lays eggs on land
• It breeds in winter
• It never calls

In the southeastern US, it is the only Hyla species that regularly breeds in waters with predatory fish.

5. How did green treefrogs change their calls against the Cuban tree frog?

• Longer, softer and rarer
• Higher and slower
• Shorter, louder and more frequent (correct)
• Quieter and at dawn

To compete with the invasive Cuban tree frog, green treefrogs made their calls shorter, louder and more frequent.

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