There are 31 toad and frog sounds you might encounter in Oklahoma. These include a mix of true frogs, tree frogs, true toads and spadefoot toads — and a small handful of others.
While you may be familiar with some of these frog calls – the trill of the American Toad or croak of the Bullfrog, for example – some may be more difficult to identify. This guide is intended to help you learn their calls.
Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans), one common source of frog sounds in Oklahoma.
For all the examples 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 11 species of tree frogs (Hylidae family) in Oklahoma. These species share several physical characteristics, including small, narrow bodies and enlarged toe pads to help climb trees or bushes. Many of these species are far more easily seen than heard. Learn more about their various calls 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.
Bird-voiced Treefrog
Hyla avivoca
The advertisement call is a series of ringing, musical whistles that last several seconds. Some liken the call to someone whistling for their dog.
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.
Squirrel Treefrog
Hyla squirrella
Advertisement call is a buzzing “quack” repeated about twice a second. It gets its name from its rain call, which made outside of breeding areas and is raspier — recalling the noises of a gray squirrel.
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.
Spotted Chorus Frog
Pseudacris clarkii
The advertisement call is a fast, raspy trill, which can sound quite similar to Mountain and Brimley’s Chorus Frogs, as well as the Squirrel Treefrog.
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.
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.
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.
Oklahoma True Frog Sounds and Calls
Seven amphibians in Oklahoma are “true frogs“, meaning they are members of the Ranidae family. These are the usually medium to large-sized “typical” frogs – the type and size of amphibian most people imagine when they think of a frog.
These amphibians often spend much of their time in or near water, which leads to the other common name for this group: water frogs. Read on to learn about the characteristics of Oklahoma’s 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.
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 Oklahoma
There are seven true toad sounds (Bufonidae family) in Oklahoma. Most of these animals make trills that vary in their length and musicality. Some of these noises are almost musical, while others…..are not. Check out Oklahoma’s toad calls below.
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.
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.
Green Toad
Anaxyrus debilis
The mating call is a nasal, buzzing trill that lasts between three and ten seconds. Some liken it to an electric buzzer. The Toad usually pauses several seconds between calls.
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.
Red-spotted Toad
Anaxyrus punctatus
The Red-spotted Toad makes a high-pitched, melodic trill that lasts between three and ten seconds. Similar to the call of the Arizona Toad, but with a higher pitch. Sounds a bit like a cricket.
Texas Toad
Anaxyrus speciosus
The male’s call is a loud, metallic, somewhat unpleasant sound. It lasts only about half a second and and repeats over and over. I think it sounds a bit like a fire alarm.
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.
Other Types of Frog Sounds in Oklahoma
There are two additional families of frog species represented in Oklahoma: spadefoot toads (Scaphiopodidae) and narrow-mouthed frogs (Microhylidae).
Spadefoots are small, round-bodied species with protruding eyes and – as their name suggests – protrusions on their feet to help them dig. Narrow-mouthed frogs often have wide bodies; some spend time on the ground beneath the leaf-litter, while others spend most of their time in trees.
Some of these species make perhaps the most unusual sounds of any frogs in the state. Check out the sounds of these other Oklahoma frogs below.
Couch’s Spadefoot
Scaphiopus couchii
The advertisement call of Couch’s Spadefoot sounds similar to the noise of a sheep or goat. It is repeated about once every five seconds, over and over.
Hurter’s Spadefoot
Scaphiopus hurterii
The advertisement call can sound very similar to the sound of the Eastern Spadefoot. Luckily their ranges do not overlap.
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!
New Mexico Spadefoot
Spea multiplicata
The advertisement call of the New Mexico Spadefoot is a metallic-sounding snore that lasts about a second and repeats every few seconds.
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.
