Frogs and Toads of Georgia

If you are looking to identify certain frogs and toads of Alabama and can’t figure it out from the page, you can check my Frog Identification and see how to contact me about helping you out.

Frogs

Georgia is home to a wide variety of frogs from a few different families. The True Frogs are your typical frogs that are generally found along the shores of a lake or pond.

True Frog Family – Ranidae

Green Frog / Bronze Frog (Rana clamitans)

Common Name: Green Frog / Bronze Frog
Scientific Name: Rana clamitans
Location: Throughout the state
Breeding Season: Spring to summer

The Green Frog is a medium to large sized frog. They can be commonly found near pretty much any water body such as ponds, lakes, or streams. Once the males of the species reach sexual maturity, their throats turn bright yellow. Best way to tell them apart from other true frogs below is the dorsal ridge on its back does not go all the way down its back.

Common Name: Pig Frog
Scientific Name: Rana grylio
Location: Southern half
Breeding Season: Late Spring to August

American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)

Common Name: American Bullfrog
Scientific Name: Rana catesbeiana
Location: Throughout state
Breeding Season: Late Spring and Summer

The American Bullfrog is the largest frog in the North America. They are found near permanent bodies of water such as large ponds, streams, and lakes. Once the males of the species reach sexual maturity, their throats turn bright yellow. It looks very similar to the Bronze Frog, but the dorsal ridge wraps around the tympanum while the Bronze Frog’s dorsal ridge is incomplete and does not extend all the way to its rear. The American Bullfrog is also very similar to the Pig Frog, but the Pig Frog has bolder spots / stripes on the back of its thighs while the Bullfrog has light spots.

Common Name: River Frog
Scientific Name: Rana heckscheri
Location: Southern part
Breeding Season: April to early August

River Frog does not have a dorsal ridge which is a key identification characteristic. Its skin is also a lot more rough and wrinkly than another true frogs.

Common Name: Pickerel Frog
Scientific Name: Rana palustris
Location: Northern part
Breeding Season: Late March to early May

The Pickerel Frog is a medium to large sized frog. Their dorsal ridge runs down from their eye to their back and inside there is rectangular boxes. 

Common Name: Southern Leopard Frog
Scientific Name: Rana spenocephala
Location: Throughout state
Breeding Season: Winter through spring but possibly breed again in the fall

The Southern Leopard Frog is a medium to large sized frog that is brown or green in color with spots over their body. They have a white spot on their tympanum and their dorsal ridge goes straight all the way down their back.

Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica)

Common Name: Wood Frog
Scientific Name: Rana sylvatica
Location: Around the northern border
Breeding Season: February

The Wood Frog is a small to medium sized frog. They vary in color from brown, silver, or red and they have dark “raccoon” eyes. They are more terrestrial than other frog species.

Common Name: Carpenter Frog
Scientific Name: Rana virgatipes
Location: Eastern Coast
Breeding Season: Late spring to summer

Carpenter Frog is identifiable because of their brown color and two yellow lines that run down their back.

Common Name: Gopher Frog
Scientific Name: Rana capito
Location: Southeastern
Breeding Season: Spring

The Gopher Frog is a medium sized frog that is tan, brown, or dark in color with many black or dark brown spots. They have a raised, thick dorsal ridge that runs down most of their back. Their skin is more warty than most frogs.

Tree Frog Family – Hylidae

There are three main group of tree frogs in Georgia: Cricket Frogs (Acris), Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris), and Tree Frogs (Hyla). Not all the members of the tree frog family lives in the trees. You can find many of them on the ground.

Cricket Frogs (Acris)

Common Name: Northern Cricket Frog
Scientific Name: Acris crepitans
Location: Northern half
Breeding Season: Spring through summer

Common Name: Southern Cricket Frog
Scientific Name: Acris gryllus
Location: Southern half
Breeding Season: Spring through summer

The Cricket Frogs look really similar but there’s a few ways to tell them apart. The Southern Cricket Frog has a more pointed snout while the Northern Cricket Frog has a more blunt snout. The Southern Cricket Frog doesn’t have as much webbing on the back legs as the Northern Cricket Frog.

Tree Frogs (Hyla)

Cope’s Gray Tree Frog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

Common Name: Cope’s Gray Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla chrysoscelis
Location: Throughout the state
Breeding Season: March to August

The Cope’s Gray Tree Frog is a medium sized frogs can be found perched in trees or on the side of your house. They are not always gray in color and can be green. They have yellow or orange coloration on their back legs.

Common Name: Pinewood’s Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla femoralis
Location: Southern half of the state
Breeding Season: April to October

The Pinewoods Frog is a medium sized frog ranging in color from brown, gray, or green. They have orange spots on their inner thighs.

Common Name: Bird-voiced Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla avivoca
Location: Coastal plains
Breeding Season: Spring through summer

The Gray Tree Frogs, Pinewoods Frog, and the Bird-Voiced Frog  look very much a like. The difference is the coloration on the inner thigh. The Gray Tree Frogs has brighter orange color on the thigh while the Bird-Voiced Frog is more greenish-yellow. The Pinewoods Frog has dots / spots on the inner thigh.

Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea)

Common Name: Green Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla cinerea
Location: Southern half
Breeding Season: March to October

The Green Tree Frog is a medium sized, smooth skinned, green frog with a distinct white stripe down its side. Yellow specks can be found on the backs of some frogs.

Common Name: Barking Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla gratiosa
Location: Southern half
Breeding Season: March to August

The Barking Tree Frog is a large, bright green frog with a white line on their lip that goes down their side and coarse skin.

Common Name: Squirrel Tree Frog
Scientific Name: Hyla squirellus
Location: Southern half
Breeding Season: March to October

The Squirrel Tree Frog is a medium sized, green or brown frog with a white lip and smooth skin. They can be spotted.

Chorus Frog (Pseudacris)

Common Name: Mountain Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris brachyphona
Location: Around the North Carolina border in the Georgia Mountains
Breeding Season: March to May

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

Common Name: Spring Peeper
Scientific Name: Pseudacris crucifer
Location: Throughout the state
Breeding Season: Winter through early spring

Spring Peeper and the Mountain Chorus Frog are similar but the markings on their back can be used to tell them apart. The Spring Peeper has an X on its back while the Mountain Chorus Frog has 2 backwards parenthesizes that look like )(. Sometimes they touch that can kinda look like an x but there’s also a dark triangle between its eyes that the Spring Peeper doesn’t have.

Video of a Spring Peeper calling, thanks to M Dwyer, @MustelidDwyer on twitter

Common Name: Upland Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacrus feriarum
Location: Piedmont and Mountain areas
Breeding Season: February to March

Common Name: Southern Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris nigrita
Location: Coastal Plains
Breeding Season: Winter through spring

The Upland Chorus Frog and the Southern Chorus Frog look extremely alike. The main differences is in their calls and where they are found.

Common Name: Little Grass Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris ocularis
Location: Coastal half
Breeding Season: All year round but peaks in late spring

The Little Grass Frog is the smallest frog in North America. Here is a video of one calling, thanks to Arik Hartmann

Common Name: Ornate Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris ornata
Location: Southern half
Breeding Season: November to March

The Ornate Chorus Frog and the Little Grass Frog can appear similar in pictures but the Little Grass Frog is really tiny. Its usually about a half an inch big. Also the dark band that runs down the side of the Little Grass Frog is uninterrupted while the Ornate Chorus Frog has breaks.

Common Name: Brimley’s Chorus Frog
Scientific Name: Pseudacris brimleyi
Location: North coastal region
Breeding Season: December to April

Brimley’s Chorus Frog has a black line thru its eye and down its side.

Toads

True Toad Family – Bufonidae

The True Toads are your typical toad. They usually have a parotid gland behind their eyes that contain a poison called  It is not advised to let your dog eat these guys.

Common Name: Oak Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus quercicus
Location: Southern part of the state
Breeding Season: April to October

The Oak Toad is the most easily identifiable toad out of the group of four. It is the smallest of the true toads and has a light line down its back. The Oak Toad also has orange on the bottom of its feet.

American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)

Common Name: American Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus americanus
Location: Northern half
Breeding Season: January to July

The American Toad is a medium sized toad with rough warty skin that’s primary brown in color but can have some black, gray, or red coloration. Their undersides are speckled. The American Toads’s parotid gland does not touch or connected to it by a spur. The toads can be found pretty much anywhere including urban areas.

Common Name: Fowler’s Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus fowleri
Location:  Everywhere besides the far southern part
Breeding Season: Spring to early summer

The Fowler’s Toad is a small to medium sized toad ranging in color from brown, gray, and olive with a clear, white underside and a white stripe down its back. Its parotid gland touches its postorbital ridge.

Common Name: Southern Toad
Scientific Name: Anaxyrus terrestris
Location: Southern part of the state
Breeding Season: February to October

To identify the differences, you have to look at the top of the head. The Southern Toad has knobs on the back of its head. The Fowler’s Toad’s parotid gland touches its postorbital ridge around its eye while the American Toads’s parotid gland does not touch or connected to it by a spur. Here’s an easy figure I found to help.

American Spadefoot Toad Family – Scaphiopodidae

Common Name: Eastern Spadefoot Toad
Scientific Name: Scaphiopus holbrookii
Location: Throughout the state
Breeding Season: All year after heavy rains

The Eastern Spadefoot Toad is a small to medium sized toad ranging in color from tan to brown with small warts They have bright yellow eyes with elliptical pupils. They have a dark spade on their hind feet.

Narrowed Mouth Toads – Microhylidae

Common Name: Eastern Narrow Mouthed Toad
Scientific Name: Gastrophryne carolinensis
Location: Throughout the state
Breeding Season: February to April

The Eastern Narrow Mouthed Toad is a small, smooth toad that varies in color from gray, brown, black, and tan. They have a pointy head and a fat little body.

Here is a video of their call.

Invasive Species

Common Name: Greenhouse Frog
Scientific Name: Eleutherodactylus planirostris
Location: Southeastern coast
Breeding Season: Spring through summer

The Green House Frog was accidentally introduced by shipments of plants, hence the name Green House Frog. They compete with native animals for resources.