The Calls of Frogs and Toads

by Lang Elliott, NatureSound Studio

Learn the sounds of 42 species of frogs and toads native to eastern and central North America with this unique 65-minute audio guide and accompanying booklet. Part one is a reference guide to the calls of every species. Arranged by taxonomic family and grouped by similarity of sounds, each species is introduced by name followed by a sample of its calls. Part two is a narrated introduction featuring examples of advertisement calls, aggressive calls, release calls, rain calls, distress calls warning calls, hybrid calls, countersinging, mixed species choruses, and more. The illustrated booklet provides detailed description of the calls of each species along with physical characteristics, life history, and breeding information.

Below is a RealAudio soundfile optimized for 28.8 modems. To play this file, you will need a recent version of the RealPlayer.

 Spring Peeper (RealAudio segment from guide + booklet text)

Notes: Grows to about 1.5" long. Scientific name crucifer refers to crucifix-like "X" on back. Widespread and abundant throughout the eastern half of the United States and southern Canada (but absent from southern Florida). Frequents wooded or brushy areas. Not often seen outside the breeding season when it looks for insects in shrubs, trees, or on the ground.

Voice: Advertisement call of male is a series of sharp, piercing bird-like peeps repeated about once per second or faster (but never as fast as calls of Bird-voiced Treefrog). Distant chorus may sound like tinkling of sleigh bells. Breeds in pools, ditches, and ponds, from spring to early summer in North and from winter to spring in South. Aggressive call is a short, stuttering trill, purrreeeek, usually rising in pitch at the end. Rain call, given periodically from trees and shrubs in summer and autumn, is a repeated series of peeps or squeaks that are harsher and more dissonant than sprintime advertisement calls.

The Recordings:

1. Advertisement call: 4/21/87; Tompkins Co., N.Y.; Lang Elliott

2. Chorus: 4/13/92; Tompkins Co., N.Y.; Lang Elliott

3. Aggressive calls: 4/24/90; Tompkins Co., N.Y.; Lang Elliott

List of 42 species covered in this guide:

Ranidae - True Frogs

Bullfrog

Pig Frog

Green Frog

Wood FrogMink

FrogCarpenter Frog

Florida Bog Frog

Plains Leopard Frog

Southern Leopard Frog

Northern Leopard Frog

Pickerel Frog

Gopher Frog

Crawfish Frog

River Frog

Hylidae - Treefrogs and Allies

Green Treefrog

Pine Barrens Treefrog

Barking Treefrog

Squirrel Treefrog

Pine Woods Treefrog

Gray Treefrog

Cope's Gray Treefrog

Bird-voiced Treefrog

Spring Peeper

Ornate Chorus Frog

Strecker's Chorus Frog

Little Grass Frog

Western Chorus Frog

Southern Chorus Frog

Brimley's Chorus Frog

Mountain Chorus Frog

Northern Cricket Frog

Southern Cricket Frog

Bufonidae - True Toads

American Toad

Southern Toad

Gulf Coast Toad

Fowler's Toad

Great Plains Toad

Oak Toad

Pelobatidae - Spadefoots

Eastern Spadefoot

Plains Spadefoot

Microhylidae - Narrowmoth Toads

Eastern Narrowmouth Toad

Plains Narrowmouth Toad

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This page designed and copyrighted 1997 by Lang Elliott, NatureSound Studio, PO Box 84, Ithaca, New York 14851-0084. Telephone: 607-277-9034. Lang Elliott e-mail: lang@naturesound.com