Smilisca phaeota
Silhouette: Dmitry Bogdanov (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week ~90%
The New Granada cross-banded tree frog (Smilisca phaeota), also known as the masked tree frog, is a species of frog in the family Hylidae found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, plantations, rural gardens, urban areas, heavily degraded former forests, ponds, and canals and ditches.
Their nickname of masked tree frog comes from the black or dark colored markings that start at their nose and go back along the face toward their ear, covering their eye. Because it goes across their eye, it can help with camouflage, as many predators find prey by their open eyes.
Media related to Smilisca phaeota at Wikimedia Commons Wikipedia →
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| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Tenorio Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 9 | Cahuita National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 10 | Braulio Carrillo National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 11 | Chagres National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 12 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 13 | Bastimentos Island National Marine Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 14 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 15 | Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 16 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 17 | Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Paz Waterfall Gardens | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | El Nispero Zoo | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 3 | Sea Life Sydney Aquarium | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Wild Life Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Arenal Eco Zoo | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Monteverde Theme Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Masked Tree Frog sighting in Marino Ballena National Park on a given day, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 12 amphibians we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August–October and December
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Masked Tree Frog in Marino Ballena National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November, the lowest month.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Masked Tree Frog sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
6th of 17
Of the 17 parks where we can rate Masked Tree Frog sightings, Marino Ballena National Park ranks 6th at about 30%. The best odds are in Arenal Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 50%), Tenorio Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%) and Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Hylidae
The closest relatives of the Masked Tree Frog that you can see in Marino Ballena National Park (family Hylidae, Hylid Tree Frogs) are Rosenberg's Gladiator Frog (about 40%) and Milk Frog (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Masked Tree Frog is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Marino Ballena National Park (25 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
