Male Gray Treefrog Ardor Grows When Female Is In Sight

The peak of Gray Treefrog courtship and breeding occurs in another month, but males are already actively calling near bodies of water. Frogs are highly sensitive to motion so visual cues play an important part in their courtship.

Male Gray Treefrogs are significantly more likely to give their musical, bird-like courtship calls when they are able to see an approaching female, and their calls are longer if females are nearby and within sight. This is a good thing, as research has found that female Gray Treefrogs choose mates on the basis of advertisement calls and prefer long calls to short calls. (To hear a Gray Treefrog calling, go to https://musicofnature.com/calls-of-frogs-and-toads-of-the-northeast/, scroll down to “Gray Treefrog” and click on arrow. Spring Peepers and Green Frog in background.)

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