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A green red-eyed tree frog with orange feet clinging to a stem.
Photo: Geoff Gallice (edited by B kimmel), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Agalychnis callidryas

A bright green Central American tree frog with big red eyes, blue sides and orange feet.

🐸 Frogs
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About the Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Red-eyed tree frogs live in warm, humid lowland rainforests from southern Mexico through Central America, often near rivers. Adult females are about 3 inches long and males about 2. They are bright green with blue legs, red-orange feet and bright red eyes, and suction-cup toes help them cling under leaves. They eat crickets, moths, flies and grasshoppers.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Agalychnis callidryas[1]
Size
Females about 3 inches; males about 2 inches.[1]
Diet
Carnivore. Crickets, moths, flies, grasshoppers and sometimes small frogs.[1]
Habitat
Humid lowland tropical rainforest near water.[1]
Where it lives
Southern Mexico through Central America.[1]
Group life
Nocturnal.[1]
Babies
Eggs laid on leaves over water; tadpoles drop in.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2016).[2]

Fun facts

  • Red-eyed tree frog eggs can hatch early to escape a snake.[1]
  • Young frogs are brown and turn green as they grow.[1]
  • Males quiver to warn rivals away.[1]

Vocabulary

startle coloration
Bright colors suddenly shown to surprise a predator.
amplexus
When a male frog holds onto a female while she lays eggs.
nocturnal
Active mainly at night.
tadpole
A young frog or toad that lives in water and breathes with gills.
chytrid
A fungus that infects the skin of amphibians and can kill them.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] San Francisco Zoo & Gardens. “Red-eyed tree frog.” https://www.sfzoo.org/red-eyed-tree-frog/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Agalychnis callidryas (Red-eyed Treefrog).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/55290/3028059 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

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