Difference Between Toad & Cricket Calls

If you step outside in the late evening in any rural part of the United States, you can expect to hear a cacophony of the sounds of life. Two particular sounds that are common throughout much of North America include toad calls and cricket chirrups, which to the untrained ear sound similar. Still, there are differences between them that can help you distinguish which is which.

  1. Sound of Toad Calls

    • Toads and frogs are both members of the Anura order but belong to different families. Toads have short hind legs and dry, bumpy skin that allows them to live out of water for extended periods. The call of toads is typically less frequent and less developed than that of frogs, and can sound like anything from a dull trill to something that sounds like a bark, grunt, drum beat, laugh, or bell. For example, the Eastern American toad emits a shrill, prolonged shriek, with each toad producing about two to five calls per minute.

    Sound of Cricket Calls

    • While cricket calls have almost the same timbre as some toad calls, the cricket chirrups much more frequently, with as many as 49 chirrups every 13 seconds. Also, cricket chirrups are much more consistent than toad calls; whereas toads emit calls with a variety of sounds, cricket calls consistently sound like a delicate chirrup or small bell.

    How Do They Make Sounds?

    • Toads produce calls by pushing air rapidly through the throat and larynx, and most amplify sound via a vocal sac. Toads have only one vocal sac, as opposed to some frogs that sometimes have two sacs or none at all.A cricket, on the other hand, produces chirrups by scratching the file and scraper part of its wings together.

    Purpose

    • With both toads and crickets, it is only the male that is able to call. The primary purpose of both calls is to attract females and potential mates. Toads might also croak to mark territory, to scare other toads away or as a distress call if they are captured by a predator. Similarly, crickets chirrup to scare away potential predators and rivals (particularly when they are busy mating).