Kenneth L. Krysko photo.
Squirrel Treefrog, Hyla squirella
In Florida, the squirrel treefrog is often called the rain frog because of the quack-like call it gives before and after spring and summer rains. Body color typically is green, but may be brown or gray, and usually has a poorly defined white stripe along the upper lip and side. It is abundant in the saw palmettos and cabbage palms in the live oak hammock, in the wax myrtle and cabbage palm forest and in the slash pine and red bay woodland in Fort Matanzas National Monument. It also hides between the cedar shingles on the roofs of the buildings. It is a foracious predator on insects. It is more tolerant of salt spray than most other treefrogs, which allows it to cross salt marshes and populate islands like Rattlesnake Island.
