The European Tree Frog (Hyla arborea) is a small amphibian in the Hylidae family of tree frogs. 

The European Tree Frog is a light green, slender frog, with a slightly flattened, smooth body. It can also be greyish, olive-green, or tan coloured. It has lightly mottled markings, often with four faint lines or distinctive white spots. It has bulging eyes at the side of its head. Its long hind feet are webbed with cushioned pads. The male has a golden-brown throat and the female has a white throat. 

It grows to about 5 centimetres (2 inches) in length. 

It is found across Europe and northern Africa.

It prefers tropical habitats, such as forests, moist shrublands, reed beds, marshes, and flooded grasslands.

It is insectivorous, but it will also eat small spiders. It can catch fast-flying insects. 

The female places 800-1,000 eggs in a foam nest that the male has made in vegetation or on the surface of a pond or stream. The eggs hatch after 10-14 days. The eggs hatch into tadpoles after about 90 days. The tadpoles have gills to breathe under water. They do not have legs, but they have a tail. The tadpoles take about 49 days to change into adult frogs, losing their tail, gaining legs, and developing lungs to breathe air. This is called metamorphosis. 

The European Tree Frog lives, on average, for 3-15 years.

Location of photographs: Parc Zoologique de Paris in Bois de Vincennes, France

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM