Listen to the natterjack toad
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the natterjack toad
The natterjack toad is a amphibian in the family Bufonidae (order Anura). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”.
What does the natterjack toad sound like?
Frog and toad calls are produced by males, who inflate a vocal sac to amplify the sound. Choruses are loudest on warm, humid nights in the breeding season, and each species' call has its own pitch, rhythm and pulse rate.
The recordings here are labelled as epidalea calamita and maulwurfsgrille audio cf. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) is a toad native to sandy and heathland areas of Europe. Adults are 60–70 mm (2.4–2.8 in) in length, and are distinguished from common toads by a yellow line down the middle of the back and parallel paratoid glands. They have relatively short legs, which gives them a distinctive gait, contrasting with the hopping movement of many other toad species.
Natterjacks have a very loud and distinctive mating call amplified by the single vocal sac found under the chin of the male.
More from the family Bufonidae
Frequently asked questions
What does a natterjack toad sound like?
You can hear 2 recordings of the natterjack toad on this page, including its epidalea calamita and maulwurfsgrille audio cf. Frog and toad calls are produced by males, who inflate a vocal sac to amplify the sound.
Is the natterjack toad endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the natterjack toad as “least concern”.
What family does the natterjack toad belong to?
The natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) belongs to the family Bufonidae in the order Anura.
Sources & credits
- Epidalea calamita by DaddyCell – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Maulwurfsgrille Audio CF by Christian Fischer – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q622886 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Natterjack toad – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Christian Fischer – CC BY-SA 3.0