MONTGOMERY-While birders rejoice the return of bird song in spring, there is a less appreciated chorus in the air this time of year as well. Frogs and toads are also singing their courtship songs during spring months. We have 31 native frog and toad species in Alabama, the second-most in the nation. Many breed in spring or early summer. Like birds, male frogs and toads call to attract a mate. If you stop to listen, you will likely hear frogs singing in wetlands, ponds and even ditches across Alabama. If there is a water source, there is potential to hear a frog or toad sing!
Some species, like the common American bullfrog, can be heard throughout the day. An afternoon rain shower will often coax squirrel treefrogs and other treefrogs into song. The richest choruses occur at night. You may find 3, 4, 5 or more species all calling in the same location. The volume of the symphony can be quite impressive around a good frog pond.
Although they are quite loud, frogs have an astounding ability to hide and can be quite difficult to 
find. Learning to identify frogs and toads by their call is the best way to know which species are present. The calls of Alabama’s frog species are varied and quite entertaining, including bird-like chirps of the bird-voiced tree frog, dog-like yelps of the barking tree frog, and pig-like grunts of the pig frog. Enjoying an evening frog chorus can be a soothing way to decompress from life’s stresses, and like birders who will travel many miles to see a single rare bird, you may find yourself exploring the wilds of Alabama to hear our rarer frogs.
Click Here learn about Alabama’s frogs and toads. A good resource to being learning frog calls is the US Geological Survey’s Frog Quizzes.
Media Release/Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
