What do they look like?
The Green Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea) is one of the largest frogs found in Australia, growing up to 10cm long. They can come in a variety of green shades, from olive yellow to lime green. A white or pale-yellow line also runs from the jaw to groin and the abdominal is white or yellow. The toe pads are large for their relative size.
Where are they found?
The Green Tree Frog is one of the most widespread Australian frogs. It lives in New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Western Australia. After rain on a hot day, the Green Tree Frog will emerge. You may find them in your house, your water tank, your drainpipe, toilet, pool, or even mail box, in search of a cool moist spot.
Fast facts:
- Green Tree Frogs love to get into downpipes and tanks during the mating season in spring and summer. These locations act like a microphone to increase the volume of their low, slow ‘brawk, brawk, brawk‘ call.
- Green Tree Frogs are excellent night hunting predators – they can even catch small bats as they fly out of caves.
Green Tree Frog – the full story
A loud ‘werk, werk, werk‘ call can mean that you are lucky enough to be host to a Green Tree Frog. These large frogs can grow up to 10cm long and have been known to live for 16 years in zoos and wildlife parks.
After rain on a hot day, the Green Tree Frog will emerge. You may find them in your house, your water tank, your drainpipe, toilet, pool, or even mail box, in search of a cool moist spot.
The rain brings Australian native frog species out in droves – and if you don’t see a Green Tree Frog, you may hear them. Green Tree Frogs love to get into downpipes and tanks during the mating season in spring and summer. These locations act like a microphone to increase the volume of their low, slow ‘brawk, brawk, brawk‘ call.
Your outside lights attract the frog’s favourite food – moths. Green Tree Frogs are a great garden helper. They eat moths and other insects, as well as spiders, mice and other small animals. They catch their food in their strong jaws and use a hand to force it down.
Green Tree Frogs are very docile amphibians that love to climb. They are well equipped for it, using the large gripping pads on their fingers and toes to scale smooth, vertical surfaces. They can even climb directly up glass.
After scaling a great height, they’ll often wait around near an outdoor light. When an insect comes to bat against the globe, the Green Tree Frog will powerfully launch itself and catch it.
They are excellent night hunting predators – they can even catch small bats as they fly out of caves.
The Green Tree Frog is one of the most widespread Australian frogs. It lives in New South Wales, Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia, and Western Australia. It is also one of Australia’s largest frogs, and grows up to 10 cm long.
Green Tree Frogs can scream when they are in danger, in an attempt to scare off a predator.
Did you know?
Although frogs have lungs, they absorb oxygen through their skin. For this to occur efficiently, the skin must be moist. The problem with this is that when there is pollution in the area, a frog absorbs it through its skin
Tip
Avoid using chemicals or insecticides in your garden, and especially near water sources – or it could harm our native frogs.
Planting native species and having a pond in your garden can encourage frogs and other native animals to your backyard.
