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Frogs That Sound Like Sandhill Cranes

The sandhill crane of North America as well as portions of Siberia and Cuba is a stately, long-legged bird of slate-gray or brown color that is the most abundant of the world's crane species. During their mass migrations or on daily flights between feeding and roosting grounds, they often call, emitting a rolling, rattling sound that is among the most stirring in nature. As they flap in ragged flocks over wetlands and riparian woods across the country, their voices might blend with some of the frog species whose own calls mimic in some form that of the great birds.

Eastern Gray Treefrog
- The trill of the gray treefrog sometimes sounds crane-like, though far higher-pitched.
  
  This large, mottled treefrog of the Midwest, East and South often calls from shrub-thickets and copses along waterways. Its voice slightly resembles that of the sandhill crane in its rolling, pulsing trill, though it is much higher-pitched and faster than the bird's. Eastern gray treefrogs have a close relative in the Cope's gray treefrog that is nearly indistinguishable from a physical sense. The vocalizations of the male gray treefrogs can, however, sort the two types out: The eastern has a more musical, lower and slower trill than the harsh song of the Cope's.
Wood Frog
- The eye mask of the wood frog is its most distinctive physical feature.
  
  In unison, the communal roiling calls of the wood frog sound somewhat similar to the clattering noise of calling cranes. This is a northern species, ranging all the way up to Alaska and northern Canada beyond the Arctic Circle. It's also an early breeder: You may hear it along the margin of a pond or lake still partly covered by ice. The wood frog's call heard nearby is often compared to the hard, rough quacking of a duck. Usually light brown in hue, the wood frog's most distinctive physical feature is a dark eye mask.
Mink Frog
- The calls of the sandhill crane and the mink frog, another northern species mainly known from eastern Canada, the Upper Midwest and northern New England, share a common characteristic: a dry rattle. The U.S. Geological Survey's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center describes the mink frog's call as similar to a fast hammering of nails, more rapid and less distinct than that of the aptly named carpenter frog. Mink frogs commonly call along the vegetated margin of ponds and lakes.
Pacific Treefrog
- A common amphibian of the Pacific Northwest and California, the Pacific treefrog often emits the classic "ribbit" sound associated incorrectly with most frogs -- mostly thanks to the popularity of this species' call in Hollywood movies. It can alternatively produce a slow, dry, raspy croak. In either case, the hard guttural nature of the call, especially when taken together in a chorus of breeding treefrogs, vaguely resembles the rattling of cranes.

Nature