Why do frogs croak?
In most frog species only the males croak. They croak to attract female frogs for breeding, and to warn away other male frogs from their territory. Female frogs think croaking is very sexy. Many kinds of frogs puff themselves up enormously with air when they croak. This amplifies the sounds made by the frog’s vocal chords, kind of like how the stretched membrane of a drum works. This is why a little critter like a frog can make such loud noises!
The answer is that most frogs who croak are male frogs, and they do it as a mating call to attract female frogs! In a frog’s world, that ribbiting sound is very appealing! The reason why croaking is so loud is that a frog will often swell up his body to stretch out his vocal chords and make the sound travel even further. Some kinds of frogs have a special bubble-looking body part that helps them make their croaking sound. Scientists have found that different types of frogs make different types of croaking sounds! It all depends on the size of the frog and its species!
Hi Chris, Jamie and Paul! Thanks for your question! Though there are a lot of different kinds of frogs, from what we know, many of the males make a series of “metallic” clicking calls to attract females. In South America, males start calling at the beginning of the rainy season (October-March). This information was from an article called “Adaptations in Frogs and Toads” by Karl H. Switak in PACIFIC DISCOVERY vol. XXIX #5 Sept-Oct 1976. If you’d like to learn more about frogs , you can find this article and many others (and books, too!) , with the help of your librarian. By the way, frogs make many other noises besides the clicking, too. Noises like croaks, whistles and burps! They were also probably one of the first animals in the world to make any noises at all! It was a good idea to check the biology archives first, now , thanks to your question, there probably will be some information on frogs in the archives, too!
