Chris' Camera Bag

A Photo Web log by Chris Young

Identifying birds and critters over the phone

Occasionally I get a call at work from a reader asking me to identify a bird or bug or critter the person has seen.

This week, a caller asked about a “frog or toad, mostly silver with black islands on its back.”

The “mostly silver” description made me think of the gray tree frog (above).

In nature, they are variable in color from gray to green.

A Google image search will confirm this.

But to be fair, I’m including a couple of others.

I’m assuming he’s not calling me to identify the common American toad pictured below.

Most people are acquainted with the common stuff.

American toad

Below is the Fowlers toad, which is similar.

Fowlers toad

My money is on gray tree frog.

Most of the time, there is no one to prove me wrong, unless the reader calls back to say, “Nope, that’s not it.”

What do you think?

I admit, I sort of enjoy the game.

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