The Frogs and Toads of North America: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Identification, Behavior, and Calls

Just to make one thing clear before I proceed: this book is almost entirely about adult anurans. The only times tadpoles are mentioned are in quick references such as the difference in diet as anurans go from their watery tadpole phase to their (relatively) more terrestrial juvenile and adult phases or when discussing keeping anurans of all life stages as pets. If you are looking for information about tadpoles, this is not the book for you. However, if you are primarily interested in identifying the calls you hear as you are out in the wild, the animal you just saw hop (or even walk) across your field of vision, or want to know more about finding North American anurans, this IS the book for you.Collaboratively written by Lang Elliott, Carl Gerhardt, and Carlos Davidson, The Frogs and Toads of North America can be viewed as four distinct parts: general information about anurans as a whole, individual species accounts, photographs for identification, and audio recordings of calls.The introduction to this book covers the natural history of anurans as a whole. It discusses subjects such as desiccation, diet, predation, reproduction, and calling. The intro altogether is only around 20 pages or so, but is actually pretty informative. I learned quite a bit that I didn't know, such as how studies suggest that females may in some cases choose males based on similarities in their temperatures as evidenced by how the temporal aspects of the male's call (pulse rates) change depending on ambient temperature. Fascinating! The intro is in effect like a light textbook: informative while still being highly engaging and to the point. The intro also discusses evolution and speciation, giving a good overview (with examples) of how different anurans may resemble each other and not be able to produce viable offspring, or vice versa. It wraps up with discussing the main known causes of amphibian declines worldwide and summarizes what you can do to help minimize harm to these wonderful animals, even recommending some volunteer programs. The end of the book discusses the merits of and tips for catching and keeping anurans as pets.Species accounts are grouped into the nine families of the Order Anura. Within these families accounts are ordered according to similarities between species, followed by degree of abundance, and finally from east to west. It is more or less easy to follow, but contains a list at the beginning of all species in order for reference both in the book and by the audio tracks (anurans are all numbered, 1 - 99b, which correspond to the audio tracks). The individual accounts have the common name and scientific name of each species, along with any proposed name changes (for example, "Arroyo Toad: Bufo californicus (Anaxyrus californicus)"; typical SVL (snout to vent length); a range map; a general summary that also includes any current conservation status; a description of the species' appearance; a discussion of its range and habitat and how these have changed historically; a discussion of behavior (mainly breeding tendencies); and a description of the species' vocal call(s). While the species accounts are generally good and are sufficient for quick descriptions and information about each species, one issue I do have is with the range maps. While they are easy to read and are useful with the "range and habitat" section, I would have liked to have seen subspecies distinguished on the maps where applicable. Instead there is a description in the text as to the regional differences of subspecies, when using multiple colors on the maps would have made it even easier. Other than this the information within the species accounts is pretty good, especially when supplemented with the photographs.This book is filled with beautiful close-up photographs of all species from a variety of biologists/photographers. Each species contains at least two photographs in its account, typically three and occasionally as much as six or seven. At least one of the photographs is a full-page photo. When combined with the "appearance" information in the species descriptions, these photos are extremely useful for seeing the specific characteristics to look for in each species. There are also photos in the non-account sections of the book, such as the introduction. The only real bad thing I have to say about the photographs is that even with its much-larger-than-the-usual-field-guide size, the book is too small (length/width) and I wish it were bigger so I could have even bigger versions of these great photographs. Oh well, at least I have  Frog: A Photographic Portrait  for that! :-)The final part of the book is the CD with the audio calls. Care was taken by the authors to find the best recordings possible for each species (except the two tailed frogs which are not known to vocalize), and let me tell you, these are really helpful. Each track begins with a clear statement of the common and scientific name for the species and then has a good 20-40 seconds on average of various high-quality recordings of the different types of calls taken under different circumstances and from different locations when available. These are very clear and sound great if you are listening with headphones and the calls go into a chorus in all directions around "you" (listen to the pig frog, for example). As an added bonus, the authors have gone to the trouble of annotating the calls for each species in the book, listing who took the recording, when and where it was taken, etc. One thing I think would have helped would have been to actually say in the recordings what each new call type typically means, rather than just having them all play back-to-back. You can compare with the text in the book, but if you don't have the book with you all you'll know is that that sound is associated with that species, not necessarily what that sound means if you hear it in the field.In summary, if you are looking for a good book to help you identify North American anuran adults by sight or sound or that will help give you a general idea of when and where to find these species, this is a good book for you to try. It is not exhaustive and if you are curious then you will be sure to have further questions after reading. However, it is enough to help you with probably any general inquiries you have or work you may be doing. It is a little on the heavy side and big enough to make kind of inconvenient for putting into a pack, but if you've got the space and a trusty portable media device for playing the calls as you go out looking, this is an invaluable resource to own.

This guide book has everything one could want from a field or study guide, including high-quality photography, helpful descriptions and facts, maps depicting the frog or toad species' range, and perhaps most valuable, a CD with recordings of frog songs. The book is probably too large to carry through bogs and swamps, which might be a drawback, but as a reference to throw into a backpack or keep in the car, I am unaware of a better resource. A pocket guide could be used to augment this larger and more comprehensive reference tool. The authors write conversationally and do not assume too much knowledge on the part of the reader (that is, this book can serve as an introduction to North American frogs and toads...it's not scholarly or overly technical), but at no time do they talk down to users.Frogs and toads are an endangered and in some cases vanishing part of our ecosystems. Some have referred to them as "canaries in the coalmine," because their health and survival is a key indicator for water quality. We have much to learn from these fascinating animals, and perhaps limited time to learn it, unless humanity is willing to make the changes that so far we have seemed reluctant to make.Apart from this more pragmatic and pedantic concern, however, is the simple fact that many frogs and toads are flat-out cool. Bizarre, colorful, cute, hideous, and perhaps most delightful, musical. My childhood summers were a continuous amphibian serenade, and my adulthood has been impoverished by city dwelling that keeps me apart from their chorus. The CD that accompanies this book was a great way to reconnect with that experience. My regret is that, as a guide book, it did not have just one long track that, while perhaps useless as an identification tool, just let the little blighters sing and sing for twenty minutes.

This is the best "Frog and Toad" song and ID book for me! I love Lang Elliott's work - his excellent recordings which are included in a CD with book are fantastic (I loaded them into my phone for use in the field). And as a bonus the photos in this book are absolutely great. It's pretty enough for your coffee table if you are a nature geek and your friends won't laugh at you too hard.Because it covers the whole country, if you don't do a lot of naturalist-oriented travel you could disregard over half the book. But I don't mind. The range maps are good and clear so it's easy to figure out whether a frog is a reasonable possibility in your area or not. If you live in the southwest/Texas area (I don't) you will be amazed at the number of frogs and toads there!If I were homeschooling kids (and subjecting them to my nature geek tendency) this would be a book I would keep around and refer to. I would have loved this book as a kid.I loaded the whole CD onto my phone, but created a playlist with just the frogs in my area so as to avoid confusion in the field.Lang Elliott's other books - especially the Insects one - are equally fabulous. He has taken the nature reference to a whole new level.