S tanding outside at night anywhere in rural Florida means you’re likely hearing frogs calling. Some species are comfortable in urban areas as well.
If you learn to pick out the species of frogs (and toads), you can quickly know a lot about the habitat, the season and even the individual’s personal message. They call out for breeding purposes, to mark territory, to alert each other about predators and in response to the weather.
Here are many (not all) of Florida’s frogs by voice, plus a bonus of seasonal choruses. (Audio from “Florida Frog Calls” by Florida Museum of Natural History.)
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/barking-treefrog-chorus.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/bird-voiced-treefrog.mp3 Bronze Frog
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/bronze-frog.mp3 Carpenter Frog
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/carpenter-frog.mp3 Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Mating Call)
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2020/11/southern-gray-treefrog-mating-call.mp3 Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Rain Call)
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2020/11/southern-gray-treefrog-rain-call.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/narrow-mouthed-toad.mp3 Gopher Frog
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/florida-gopher-frog.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/green-treefrog.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/green-treefrog-chorus.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/green-treefrog-rain-call.mp3 Little Grass Frog
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/little-grass-frog.mp3 Little Grass Frog (Rhythmic)
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/little-grass-frog-rhythmic.mp3 Oak Toad (Breeding Call)
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/oak-toad-breeding-call.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/ornate-chorus-frog.mp3 Pig Frog
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/pig-frog.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/pinewoods-treefrog.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/pinewoods-treefrog-chorus.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/florida-chorus-frog.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/southern-cricket-frog.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/southern-cricket-frog-chorus.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/southern-leopard-frog-chorus.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/southern-toad-breeding-chorus.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/spring-peeper.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2020/11/spring-peeper-chorus-mating-call.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/squirrel-treefrog.mp3 https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/squirrel-treefrog-chorus.mp3 Group Chorus
Because a frog chorus is often several species singing together, and the variety changes with the season, here are a few choruses to enjoy. See if you can identify the individual species in each season!
Spring https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/group-chorus-spring.mp3 Summer (July) https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/group-chorus-summer-july.mp3 Summer (August) https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/group-chorus-summer-august.mp3 Winter https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2018/11/group-chorus-winter.mp3 A Modern Addition
Cuban treefrogs have become an invasive species in Florida. To provide help identifying this species by sound, we have added a modern recording of several Cuban treefrogs.
Cuban Treefrog
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/108/2020/10/Cuban-treefrog-calls_03.mp3