American Toad Calls: A Guide to Their Sounds

What Does the American Toad Sound Like? 

American Toad calls are among the most common and well known in the United States. These sounds, used by the male toads to attract mates, consist of high-pitched, musical trills that typically last between 8 and 30 seconds. 

American Toad vocalizations are one of 22 toad calls in the United States, and one of about 100 frog and toad noises.

While the length of American Toad sounds tends to stay relatively constant, the pulse rate (how close together the notes of the trill are) varies depending on water temperatures near the calling male. The number of notes per second increases in warmer temperatures.  

Check out an example of the sounds of Anaxyrus americanus in the video below!

I’ve often heard many overlapping toad calls, each with slightly different pitch, during the breeding season. This can create a wonderful natural symphony for a spring or summer evening.

Why Does the American Toad Call? 

Male American Toads call primarily to attract mates, but they also actively search for females at breeding sites. Females tend to choose males with more “intense” calls: ones that have higher pulse rates and/or longer duration.  

Like many amphibians, toads also have a “release call”, which is a noise to let a frog that has grasped on for mating that they are not interested. Both males (which are sometimes grasped accidentally) and females make this noise.

When Does the American Toad Call? 

American Toads call during their breeding season, which occurs from late winter to midsummer, depending on latitude. Breeding has been recorded from January to April (Alabama), February and March (North Carolina),, March and April (Missouri and Virginia), March to May (in several northern states), and even June to August (Ontario).

While toad sounds can last for several weeks or months, American Toads reproduce only during a very short period – usually between a couple days and a week of the breeding season. 

Where Can I Hear American Toads? 

American Toads are common throughout much of the eastern United States and Canada. See the map below to see if they’re found in your area.

Within their range, the American Toad calls from wetland breeding sites, including shallow ponds, marshes, and slow-moving streams. They prefer breeding sites with abundant emergent vegetation and avoid sites with predatory fish.  Toads will also use beaver ponds and human-made water bodies, including reservoirs and retention ponds

Calling happens along the shoreline of these breeding sites or in shallow water.  Toads will sound off from the same spot on any given night, but they often shift locations between one night and the next.