Sounds of Rana sierrae - Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog

(formerly Rana muscosa - Mountain Yellow-legged Frog)

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Male calling in shallow water

Above frog in habitat

Breeding habitat

More pictures and information:

Frogs and Habitats

Eggs and Tadpoles

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.
The advertisement call of the Siera Nevada Yellow-legged Frog is produced primarily underwater during the daytime. It is a short and rasping call often accellerated and rising at the end, sometimes preceeded by calls that don't rise at the end. This frog has no vocal sacs. The following recordings were made in the air and underwater at about 9000 ft. Alpine County, at the location depicted to the left. Water flowing from snow-melt into the small lake can be heard in the background, along with occasional singing birds.

This is an 18 second recording of calls made by a male frog sitiing at the edge of the water with its head slightly out of the water (top picture on the left - notice the bubbles created while calling.) The sounds recorded are those produced by the frog in the air.		This is 18 second recording of calls made by the same frog heard on the left, but recorded with an underwater microphone placed in the shallow water in front of the frog. The sounds recorded are those produced by the frog underwater.

This is 34 seconds of the calls of the frog heard above recorded in the air.		This is a 40 second recording of frog sounds recorded underwater. A pair of slowly-swimming amplexing frogs disappeared from view behind a a log on the water. A single frog followed them, and these are some of the sounds that ensued.
Release Calls A release call is produced by a male frog or an unreceptive female frog when a male frog or other animal gets on its back and grabs its sides in the position used for mating or amplexus. It's a frog's way of saying "Get off my back! Let go!"

This is a 5 second recording of the release calls of a frog on land, recorded during daylight. Birds and flowing water are heard in the background.		This is a 4 second underwater recording of the release calls of a frog underwater.
You can listen to more Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog calls at AmphibiaWeb, at the Mountain Yellow-legged frog web site, or on this cd: Carlos Davidson - Frog and Toad Calls of the Pacific Coast - Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology