14 Types of Frogs in East Tennessee: A Field Guide to Local Species
October 26, 2026
A short, unmusical “w-a-a-a-h” drifting from a pond edge in April is often the first clue that spring has arrived in the Appalachians. That call belongs to just one of the many types of frogs in East Tennessee, a region where 15 of the 21 documented frog and toad species in the Volunteer State make their home.
From fingertip-sized cricket frogs to bullfrogs the size of a dinner plate, this stretch of Tennessee packs an unusual amount of amphibian diversity into its ridges, wetlands, and river valleys. This guide walks through all 14 species most likely to turn up in backyards, greenways, and mountain hollows across the region, with the calls, colors, and habits that separate one from another.
Pro Tip: Frogs and toads are technically the same order, but they look and behave differently. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency notes that frogs tend to have smooth skin and strong jumping legs, while toads have drier, warty skin and move in short hops rather than long leaps.
| Common Name | Typical Size | Where to Look |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Cricket Frog | 0.6–1.3 in | Pond and stream edges |
| American Toad | 2–3.5 in | Yards, gardens, woodlands |
| Fowler’s Toad | 2–3 in | Sandy soils, urban lots |
| Cope’s Gray Treefrog | 1.25–2 in | Trees near water |
| Green Treefrog | 1.25–2.5 in | Marshes, ponds, wetlands |
| Mountain Chorus Frog | 1–1.5 in | Hilltops, woodlands |
| Spring Peeper | 1–1.5 in | Woodland pools |
| Upland Chorus Frog | 0.75–1.5 in | Fields, ditches |
| Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad | 1–1.25 in | Under logs and debris |
| Eastern Spadefoot | 1.75–2.25 in | Burrows in loose soil |
| American Bullfrog | 3.5–6 in | Large permanent water |
| Green Frog | 2–4 in | Nearly any water body |
| Pickerel Frog | 1.75–3 in | Cool, clear streams |
| Southern Leopard Frog | 2–5 in | Marshes, floodplains |
1. Northern Cricket Frog
The northern cricket frog (Acris crepitans) is easy to overlook simply because of its size. Its call is a short, unmusical “w-a-a-a-h” lasting one to four seconds, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency documents it as the state’s smallest frog, growing to only about 0.6 to 1.3 inches and marked in a wide variety of brilliant colors. Northern crickets prefer ponds and stream edges with vegetation and can be seen throughout the state except in the highest parts of the eastern mountains. With a reported lifespan of four months, the population has been declining in Tennessee since 1970.
Because it favors open, sunny shorelines, this species is one of the more visible types of frogs found across the eastern United States, though its numbers here have thinned noticeably over the decades. Anyone scanning a muddy bank in late spring may spot dozens leaping in unison at the first sign of movement.
2. American Toad
The American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) is the generalist of the group. It is found in various habitats across Tennessee and is able to adapt to human encroachment, and while these toads are commonly brown, they can also be red, olive, or gray. That color shift isn’t random.
Temperature, humidity, and stress all play a role in how dark or light an individual toad appears at any given moment. Backyard gardeners often welcome this species because it feeds heavily on insects, including many of the same pests documented among the ants found throughout Tennessee. A warty, low-slung toad hopping through mulch after dusk is almost always this species.
3. Fowler’s Toad
Fowler’s toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) looks similar to its American cousin but keeps a lower profile. This species spends its time underground and is most active at night, and it is documented in both rural and urban habitats across Tennessee. Interestingly, Fowler’s toads will sometimes appear after heavy rains in areas where they’re not suspected to live.
That underground habit means most sightings happen by accident, often when a shovel or garden trowel disturbs a resting toad during the day. Its range overlaps with populations documented in neighboring states, including the frog species recorded across Alabama, where similar sandy-soil habitats support the same toad.
4. Cope’s Gray Treefrog
Cope’s gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) belongs to a pair of nearly identical species that can only be told apart by call and chromosome count. It is smaller and smoother skinned than the true gray treefrog, and most of the time it has a solid lime green colored back. These frogs can be found throughout the state of Tennessee.
Beyond color, its body is quite rough and warty, though smoother than most toads, and its toes carry pads that let it climb with ease. Dorsal coloration is largely affected by substrate, humidity, and season, and while most individuals are gray with black blotches, some appear green or brown. This climbing ability puts it in the same arboreal company as some of the tree-dwelling lizards native to Tennessee, though the treefrog relies on sticky toe pads rather than claws.
5. Green Treefrog
The green treefrog (Hyla cinerea) is one of the most photogenic frogs in the region. It is a medium-sized, smooth-skinned, green frog with a distinct white stripe down its side, and yellow specks can be found on the backs of some individuals.
This species clings to cattails, irises, and other tall marsh plants rather than burying itself in leaf litter, which makes it easier to spot than many of its relatives. Its range extends south and west into states such as those covered in the amphibian surveys conducted across Mississippi, where warm wetlands support dense populations.
6. Mountain Chorus Frog
True to its name, the mountain chorus frog (Pseudacris brachyphona) sticks to higher, drier ground than most of its family. It is a small species that ranges from tan to light brown with a dark brown mottling pattern, and unlike many chorus frogs, it is not associated with water and is typically found near woodlands or hilltops.
Its preference for ridge-line habitat mirrors the terrain favored by other Appalachian specialists, including several species documented in the frog populations of western North Carolina just across the state line. Listening for its call during a spring hike up a wooded slope is often more productive than searching near a pond.
7. Spring Peeper
The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) announces the season with one of the most recognizable sounds in the Tennessee outdoors. It can be distinguished by a dark colored “X” across its back, and while very common in woodlands near water, it occurs throughout Tennessee and has been heard calling at elevations of 6,300 feet. Its chorus of a shrill, high-pitched call can be heard from up to half a mile away.
Similar to the American toad, this frog spends most of its time on land and only enters water to breed and lay eggs, and like most treefrogs, it is nocturnal, hunting ants, spiders, and other small insects during the evening. Among the many frog species recognized worldwide, few produce a chorus as instantly familiar to rural Tennesseans as this one.
8. Upland Chorus Frog
The upland chorus frog (Pseudacris feriarum) is a small, striped relative of the spring peeper that favors open fields, ditches, and temporary pools rather than deep woods. It calls earliest in the year among the chorus frogs, often starting while patches of ice still linger on standing water, and its raspy trill is frequently compared to a fingernail dragged slowly across the teeth of a comb.
Because this species breeds explosively in shallow, short-lived pools, it can seem to vanish for most of the year before flooding a field with sound for just a few weeks each winter and early spring. Similar seasonal chorus frog activity has been documented in wetland surveys from the frog populations recorded across Iowa, where related species use the same breeding strategy.
9. Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad
Despite its common name, the eastern narrow-mouthed toad (Gastrophryne carolinensis) is not a true toad at all. Its general shape and appearance are usually enough to identify this small frog, which grows to just 1 to 1.25 inches long, has a pot-bellied, triangular body with a fold of skin just behind the eyes, and carries a small turtle-like head with a pointed snout. Coloration ranges from gray to brown to reddish with dark markings on the back.
The call is unmistakable once heard. It is a high, drawn-out, insect-like “beeeeeeeeeeee” that many liken to the bleating of a newborn lamb, and it is found statewide except in the Blue Ridge Mountains, often under rocks, logs, or in old sawdust piles. That skin fold behind the eyes serves a practical purpose: it can fold forward to wipe away insects that attack the frog’s eyes while it burrows through ant colonies, since ants make up roughly 95% of its diet.
10. Eastern Spadefoot
The eastern spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii) is one of the region’s strangest and least-seen amphibians. Its color varies from yellowish-brown to dark brown and from dark gray to black, and it is found across Tennessee except in the Blue Ridge Mountains, making it the only spadefoot species that appears east of the Mississippi River. Notably, it is Tennessee’s only frog or toad with vertical pupils, and it isn’t seen often, emerging from its burrow only after heavy rain during warmer months.
Key Insight: A short, loud “BURR” sound similar to a young crow calling is usually a sign that an eastern spadefoot is nearby, even though the animal itself may stay hidden underground for weeks at a time.
Its burrowing lifestyle and arid-adapted habits echo strategies seen in desert-dwelling relatives, including species profiled among the spadefoot toads documented in Utah, where similarly loose soils support the same digging behavior.
11. American Bullfrog
The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is the giant of Tennessee’s amphibian world. Documented as the largest native frog in the United States, it is likely to be found in any large, permanent body of water, ranging from 3.5 to 6 inches long and colored anywhere from green to brown, with a curved ridge behind the eye and around the tympanum.
Male bullfrogs have bright yellow throats during the breeding season while females have white throats. The average bullfrog lives seven to nine years in the wild, though a captive individual lived 16 years, and the species is hunted by humans for frog legs. Bullfrogs will eat anything they can fit in their mouths, including snakes, worms, insects, and other frogs, even members of their own species. That appetite has made the species notorious outside its native range, including introduced populations discussed among the non-native frog species established in Hawaii.
12. Green Frog
The green frog (Lithobates clamitans) is common enough that most Tennesseans have encountered one without realizing it. This species is abundant throughout Tennessee and can be found in almost every town, typically appearing greenish-brown with dark mottling on its head, chest, and under its legs. Throat color ranges from bright yellow in males to white in females.
These frogs can produce as many as six different calls, though the most distinctive sound is a throaty “boink” that resembles a loose banjo string being plucked. That banjo-like note is often the easiest way to separate this species from the deeper, more sustained call of its larger bullfrog relative. Wetland habitats supporting this species are comparable to those described in the frog and toad populations of Maryland, another state where the species thrives in nearly every pond and stream.
13. Pickerel Frog
The pickerel frog (Lithobates palustris) carries a distinction no other Tennessee frog shares. Tennessee has only a single poisonous frog, and it is the pickerel frog. Identification relies on pattern rather than toxicity alone.
This frog looks very similar to the northern leopard frog, though the pickerel frog has two parallel rows of squareish spots down its back. As a defense, its skin produces a toxic substance that makes it unappealing to most predators. Its call is also distinctive: it sounds shorter and faster than the leopard frog’s, closer to a finger running over the tines of a comb.
Important Note: The pickerel frog’s skin secretions can irritate skin and eyes and may harm smaller animals or pets that mouth one. Handling any wild frog or toad should be followed by thorough handwashing, and this species is best observed rather than picked up. Anyone interested in toxin-producing amphibians more broadly can compare notes with the poisonous frog species found around the world.
14. Southern Leopard Frog
The southern leopard frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus) rounds out the list as one of the region’s most habitat-dependent species. It has two to three unevenly spaced rows of irregular oval-shaped dots on its back and has been found statewide except at the higher elevations in the east of Tennessee.
It needs three different habitats to match its lifestyle: permanent water for overwintering, floodplains and marshes for breeding, and meadows and fields for foraging. These frogs are opportunistic feeders that will eat anything that fits in their mouth, including beetles, ants, smaller frogs, birds, and even garter snakes. Its call, described as a low and rumbling snore and grunt sound, is accompanied by a loud scream when the frog is grasped or frightened by a predator. Regional comparisons with leopard frog populations noted in the frog surveys of North Carolina show a similar reliance on connected wetland systems.
Protecting East Tennessee’s Frog Populations
Several of these 14 species face pressure from habitat loss, road mortality, and long-term population shifts, with the northern cricket frog’s steady decline since 1970 standing out as a documented example. Anyone wanting to support healthy frog populations can leave leaf litter and brush piles undisturbed, avoid pesticide use near ponds and ditches, and give any spadefoot, toad, or treefrog encountered outdoors plenty of space rather than relocating it.
For readers curious about how these Tennessee species compare to amphibians elsewhere, guides covering the total number of frog species worldwide and the frog species documented in Connecticut offer useful points of comparison. Those exploring more of the region’s wildlife may also enjoy a companion look at the woodpecker species found across East Tennessee, another group that shares the same forests and wetlands with the frogs and toads covered here.