11 Types of Frogs You Can Find in Wisconsin

Frogs are fascinating creatures and are crucial to many ecosystems in Wisconsin. There are many different types of frogs in the world, and the kinds you find vary greatly from place to place. Wisconsin is home to many interesting frog breeds, and there is a great deal to learn about each one.

As a general rule, there are 11 species of frogs you can find in Wisconsin including Blanchard’s Cricket FrogS, Boreal Chorus Frogs, Spring Peeper, Cope’s Gray Tree Frogs, American Bullfrogs, Green Frogs, Pickerel Frogs Northern Leopard Frogs, Mink and Wood Frogs.

We will have a look at the main types of frogs found in Wisconsin including where they can be found, and provide more general information about each of them. The following table indicates the livable region of the state for each frog type, as well as their preferred breeding habitat.

Frog Species	North	Central	South	Standing Water	Moving Water
Blanchard’s Cricket Frog			X	X
Boreal Chorus Frog	X	X	X	X	X
Spring Peeper	X	X	X	X
Cope’s Gray Treefrog		X	X	X
Gray Tree Frog	X	X	X	X	X
American Bullfrog	X	X	X	X	X
Green Frog	X	X	X	X
Pickerel Frog			X		X
Northern Leopard Frog	X	X	X	X
Mink Frog	X			X	X
Wood Frog	X	X		X

Blanchard’s Cricket Frog

This Blanchard’s Cricket Frog appears brown with green coloring on its head and down its back. It is rare to spot and Wisconsin recognizes it as an endangered species.

The Blanchard’s cricket frog prefers a habitat of marshes, ponds, or other areas of standing water, and frogs are particularly susceptible to freezing winter conditions, so they have to seek warmer habitats so they can survive.

They breed during most of the warm months from late Spring to the end of Summer.

1. Boreal Chorus Frog

These frogs usually appear to be pale green or tan in color and have three green stripes running down its back.

This frog is found throughout most of the state with exception of the northeastern region of the state. Boreal chorus frogs are less picky about their habitat than many of the other species on this list. They will pretty readily live in any permanent body of water. They prefer to live in long grass, so they can be hard to see, even though their call is difficult to miss.

2. Spring Peeper

The Spring Peeper frog gets its name from its song that sounds like “peeps” and is the first among the Wisconsin frog breeds to begin their mating call in the Spring. These brownish frogs are usually distinguished by an X- pattern on their back.

Do You Hear Crickets in Spring? May not be crickets...

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Much like the Boreal Chorus frog, this frog’s preferred breeding ground is any body of water that doesn’t have large numbers of fish, which would act as a predator for them. They are very easy to hear since they are so loud, but very hard to spot since they are so small. Check out the video above where we go exploring for Spring Peeper.

Recently, this particular type of frog has seen a decline in population and may eventually end up as a species of special concern.

3. Cope’s Gray Tree Frog

These frogs have a green-grey back with a pale underbelly. Their inner thighs have yellow markings that set them apart.

Their coloring will be more green than gray when it is not the mating season, and their mating call is short and raspy. This call is the easiest way to distinguish the Cope’s Gray Treefrog from the Gray Tree Frog, which is its cousin.

Despite the implication of the name “TreeFrog,” these frogs live near the water’s edge and prefer to live in the brush rather than in trees.

4. Gray Tree Frog

These frogs are very closely related to the Cope’s Gray Treefrog, and the two are difficult to distinguish, aside from the gray Treefrog being larger, and changing color less frequently throughout the year.

They prefer to live in wooded areas and will perform their mating call even when it isn’t the mating season. This frog’s preferred breeding ground is any permanent body of water.

5. American Bullfrog

American Bullfrogs are large frogs can be found throughout the state and throughout most of the rest of North America. They can range from green to brown in coloring but are covered in dark spots all over their back and legs (CTNF).

Many are familiar with the species simply because it lives throughout the entire United States. It is also one of the frogs on this list that is not an endangered or protected species. They are very common to find.

6. Green Frog

Green Frogs frogs are more of an olive green/brown color than you might expect from a type of frog called a “green frog”. They probably look exactly how you would picture a frog in your head.

They mate later in the year, so their tadpoles often live through a freeze before they finish their development. Because of this, the green frog has to mate in permanent bodies of water to help their young survive these fluctuating temperatures.

7. Pickerel Frog

The pickerel frog is somewhat more rare than many of the frogs on this list. They appear spotted and migrate quite a lot during the year. They move from cold streams in the winter to warmer waters in the summer.

Their population is concentrated in the Southwest corner of the state, though they can be found in various places all over the state.

Northern Leopard Frog

The Northern Leopard Frog is spotted in a similar way to the pickerel, though it appears much more green.

It is also much more common than the pickerel and can be found throughout the entire state. Their population, however, has been on the decline for decades, though the species is not in immediate danger.

Mink Frog

Mink Frogs appear a brighter green color and are often heavily spotted with black spots.

These frogs are currently being threatened by new development because they require shorelines in order to survive and reproduce.

They prefer river banks and lake shorelines for their breeding.

Wood Frog

The Wood Frog stands out in this group immediately by its appearance. The wood frog’s coloring ranges from russet to brown, and it has what appears to be a mask of dark brown skin on its face.

These frogs prefer wooded areas and breed in puddles made from melting snow. This frog is found throughout most of the state, however, there is a region in the southwest where they are not typically found.

More About Frogs in The USA

I love to go out looking for frogs and if you are in Wisconsin, by all means, head out and search for frogs! Wisconsin is a great place to capture photos of a diverse variety of frogs.

Learn more about where to find frogs in the USA in our guides below: