Sounds of Bufo californicus - Arroyo Toad

(=Anaxyrus californicus)

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Advertisement Calls An advertisement call is the most well-known call of a frog. It is produced by a male frog in order to attract females during the breeding season and to warn other rival males of his presence. Frogs usually make the calls around bodies of water that are suitable for breeding and egg laying. These calls can be heard during the evening and at night, and sometimes during daylight at the peak of the breeding season. The advertisement call of the Arroyo Toad is a fast musical trill, about 10 seconds, rising in pitch, and ending abruptly. Males call at night from shallow pools of slow-moving streams. Calling is not dependant on rainfall. This call is similar to that of Bufo punctatus - Red-spotted Toad, but has a lower pitch.

This is an 8 second recording of the advertisement call of a distant male Arroyo Toad calling at night in a riparian canyon in San Diego County. Crickets and Pseudacris regilla - Pacific Treefrogs are heard in the foreground.		This is a 50 second recording of a series of advertisement calls of a distant male Arroyo Toad calling at night in a riparian canyon in San Diego County. Continous calls of crickets and of Pseudacris regilla - Pacific Treefrogs, and occasional calls of Pseudacris cadaverina - California Treefrogs, are heard in the foreground, while in the background are running water, the calls of a Common Poorwill, and the faint call of a Great Horned Owl near the end of the recording.

This is a 4 second recording of the advertisement call of a male Arroyo Toad calling at night in Santa Barbara County, recorded by Carlos Davidson and used here by permission.
You can listen to more recordings of Arroyo Toads on this cd: Carlos Davidson - Frog and Toad Calls of the Pacific Coast - Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology You can also listen to this toad at AmphibiaWeb.