Subject: Cope's Grey Treefrog, Hyla chrysoscellis

Location: Stonecoal Wildlife Management Area, Lewis County, West Virginia

Stock Number: 04-3832

Comments: Odd that these frogs are called Gray Treefrogs, since they may be gray, green, tan, white, or brown. They even have orange colors—concealed on the underneath of the back legs.

These two young Gray Tree Frogs recently left the water and are trying to get used to life without gills and a tadpole's tail. Soon they will disperse into woods and to the edges of meadows, living in trees and unlikely ever to be seen by humans.

Humans do hear their persistant trill, most commonly before a rain. If you follow the trill, chances are you'll see the treefrog at home on a branch or tree trunk.

Some years ago scientists discovered that what they had been calling the Gray Treefrog was actually two different species. You can't tell the species apart by color or makings, nor by any other visual method. The only way to tell the species apart is to count the number of trills per minute.

It may sound trivial, but these frogs mean business. The fast trillers will not mate with slow trillers, and vice versa.