There are 26 varieties of toad and frog sounds in Missouri. These include eight true frog calls, ten tree frog sounds, four true toad noises, two spadefoot toad calls, and two narrow-mouthed toad calls.
Frog calls in Missouri are most commonly heard during spring and early summer, during the breeding season. Males gather in ponds and wetlands to call, often creating loud choruses, with the intent of attracting females to mate.
Spring Peepers and Wood Frogs are often among the first species to be heard, and are soon joined by Leopard Frogs and American Toads. Later in the spring, gray tree frogs, Fowler’s toads, cricket frogs, and others will take over as the most common croakers.
A Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans), a common source of frog sounds in Missouri. Source: iNaturalist.
For all the species below, I have included only the males’ mating (or advertisement) calls, as these are by far the most often heard. While frogs make other noises, including alarm, release, and territorial calls, these are often short, tough to identify to species, and not as frequently recorded.
There are ten species of tree frogs in Missouri. These creatures share several physical characteristics, including small, narrow bodies and enlarged toe pads that help them climb trees or bushes. However, there are several types of tree frogs, including chorus frogs and cricket frogs, and their sounds can vary quite a bit, as you’ll see below.
Blanchard’s Cricket Frog
Acris blanchardi
Blanchard’s Cricket Frog makes a set of repeated and rapid clicks, which resemble the sound of two small rocks being tapped together.
Cope’s Gray Treefrog
Hyla chrysoscelis
The mating call is a trill that sounds harsher than the call of the Gray Treefrog. The pulse rate is faster compared to the Gray Treefrog when both are calling in the same area at the same time.
American Green Treefrog
Hyla cinerea
The mating call is a short, nasal “honk!” made once or twice per second. This recording of Green Treefrog sounds from the National Park Service shows a faster call compared to the video.
Eastern Gray Treefrog
Hyla versicolor
The advertisement call of the gray treefrog is a musical trill that lasts about half a second and is repeated every few seconds. While it is similar to the Cope’s Gray Treefrog call, the pulse rate (speed of the call notes) is significantly slower if both frogs are calling in the same temperature.
Spring Peeper
Pseudacris crucifer
One of the most well known sounds in the Eastern United States, the spring peeper’s mating call is a loud, ongoing “peep” that repeats once a second or slightly faster.
Upland Chorus Frog
Pseudacris feriarum
The frog makes a clicking trill that rises at the end. This noise can be tough to tell apart from Boreal, New Jersey, and Midland Chorus Frogs, which sound very similar.
Cajun Chorus Frog
Pseudacris fouquettei
The mating call is a clicking trill that lasts about a second and rises slightly at the end. It sounds very similar to several other chorus frogs, especially the Southern Chorus Frog. Both of these frogs make noise at slower pulse rates than Upland or Boreal Chorus Frogs.
Illinois Chorus Frog
Pseudacris illinoensis
The call of the Illinois Chorus Frog sounds like a high-pitched, bell-like whistle. A chorus of many frogs sounds a bit like a squeaky wheel.
Boreal Chorus Frog
Pseudacris maculata
The advertisement call is a metallic-sounding trill that lasts a little more than a second and rises in pitch at the end. Calls are typically a couple seconds apart. This frog sounds similar to Midland and Upland Chorus Frogs.
Strecker’s Chrorus Frog
Pseudacris streckeri
The advertisement call is a metallic-sounding “peep”, very similar to the Ornate Chorus Frog. The call is slightly lower in pitch, but can be difficult to differentiate in areas where the species overlap.
True Frog Sounds and Calls in Missouri
Eight amphibians in Missouri are considered “true frogs” or “water frogs” (Ranidae family). These frogs are the usually medium to large in size, and are the most commonly recognized and seen. If you’ve seen a cartoon image of a frog, it’s most likely in this family.
In Missouri, true frog noises come from the Crawfish Frog, Plains Leopard Frog, American Bullfrog, Green Frog, Pickerel Frog, Northern Leopard Frog, Southern Leopard Frog, and Wood Frog.
These frogs feature a range of physical and vocal differences. Read on to learn about the differences among these true frog sounds and calls.
Crawfish Frog
Lithobates areolatus
The mating call of the Crawfish Frog is a one-second-long, low-pitched, nasal snore.
Plains Leopard Frog
Lithobates blairi
The mating call of the Plains Leopard Frog is made up of between two and four chucking notes, repeated quickly several times. Each set of chucks rises slightly in pitch, and may end with a grunt.
Bullfrog
Lithobates catesbeianus
The bullfrog mating call is a loud, low-pitched “ruuum, ruuum, ruuuum.” They also have a high-pitched alarm call when they suddenly jump into the water if startled.
Green Frog
Lithobates clamitans
The Green Frog makes a sudden, loud “gunk!”. Many liken it to someone plucking a loose banjo string. They usually call in a few times in a row, with volume and pitch decreasing each time.
Pickerel Frog
Lithobates palustris
Pickerel Frogs make a soft snore that lasts about two seconds, sometimes with a few garbled notes or “gunk!” that sounds similar to the Green Frog. The snore of the Pickerel Frog is much shorter than that of the Northern Leopard Frog.
Northern Leopard Frog
Lithobates pipiens
The Northern Leopard Frog’s mating call is a long snore that lasts at least three seconds, and is often followed with grunts or chuckles. The call usually increases in volume until trailing off at the end.
Southern Leopard Frog
Lithobates sphenocephalus
The Southern Leopard Frog quickly repeats a set of five to ten “chucking” notes, often followed by grunts. These chucks get faster in warmer temperatures.
Wood Frog
Lithobates sylvaticus
The Wood Frog’s call is a series of explosive clucks; some have compared this to the sound of hoarse duck quacks.
Toad Calls in Missouri
There are four true toads(members of the Bufonidae family) in Missouri: the American Toad, Fowler’s Toad, Great Plains Toad, and Woodhouse’s Toad. Many of these creatures make some sort of trill, but these vary quite a bit in how musical and (un)pleasant they sound.
American Toad Calls
Anaxyrus americanus
The mating call is a musical trill that typically lasts between five and thirty seconds. During the breeding season, males’ make sounds that often alternate or overlap, and have slightly different pitches.
Fowler’s Toad Sounds
Anaxyrus fowleri
Fowler’s Toads make a buzzy trill that lasts between one and five seconds. Some people liken the sound to that of a crying baby or a woman screaming. Fowler’s Toads sometimes hybridize with American Toads, and calls end up sounding like a mix of the two species.
Woodhouse’s Toad
Anaxyrus woodhousii
The mating call is a nasal buzz-like noise that typically lasts between two and four seconds. Similar sound to Fowler’s Toad, but usually lower in pitch. Also sounds a bit like a person screaming or baby crying.
Great Plains Toad
Anaxyrus cognatus
The Great Plains Toad makes a loud, long, pulsing, high-pitched trill, has a jack-hammer quality to it. Lasts from five seconds up to a minute.
Other Types of Frog Sounds in Missouri
There are two additional families of frog species represented in Missouri. These include the spadefoot (Scaphiopodidae) and narrow-mouthed frog (Microhylidae). While these both have some similarities to true toads, their calls are different enough that I have broken them out into their own section.
Eastern Spadefoot Calls
Scaphiopus holbrookii
The mating call of the Eastern Spadefoot is an explosive noise that sounds a bit like a person gagging. It’s not the most pleasant sound. The noise is repeated every five to ten seconds.
Plains Spadefoot
Spea bombifrons
The Plains Spadefoot male makes mating call that sounds like a snore-like growl. Some far southern populations have a shorter call that can sound like the bark of a small dog!
Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad
Gastrophryne carolinensis
The Eastern Narrowmouth Toads makes a loud, sometimes startling high-pitched “weeeeee!” It can sound similar to the bleat of a baby animal.
Great Plains Narrow-mouthed Toad
Gastrophryne olivacea
The Great Plains Narrow-mouthed Toad (also called Western Narrow-mouthed Toad) emits a high-pitched nasal buzzing sound, a bit similar to a bee. It usually lasts between one and four seconds.
