Night birds in Hawaii? Nope.

It used to happen more often, when I was still talking by phone with many friends on the mainland.  Over time, we speak by phone less often, but once in a while, I still get asked when chatting in the evening, "What are those birds I hear in the background?"

Those birds are frogs.  Charming to some (usually people who move here) and a bane to others (usually to those who grew up here without them), the Coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui Thomas) arrived in potted plants from the Caribbean in 1988.  

Jungles in Hawaii used to be relatively silent at night, that is, until the little frog with the big voice arrived.  Registering at 90 decibels, male frogs can be ear piercing should they chirp next to your ear.  Efforts to eradicate have largely failed and they have spread across Hawaii Island and to others, in density 3 times greater than in Puerto Rico where they came from.  

Seems coqui like living in Hawaii.  Who doesn't?  Keeping the jungle and unnecessary plants back from your home helps.  But, you can usually hear them even with windows closed.  The get much quieter when outside air temperatures drop into the low 60's or lower.   I imagine them shivering in their hidey-holes.  And, they're not as prevalent in more arid areas of the islands.

Luckily (or unluckily if you're a light sleeper), they only chirp at night.  For those of us who moved here after 1988, they add an authenticity to the sounds of the jungle.  And for most of us, they become background notice we tune out.

If you aren't charmed by the nightly serenade of the coqui, you can always wear ear plugs.  Or mount your own eradication program.

Take a listen below.  I stood in a very jungly spot the other night and recorded the frogs at close range.  You'll get the idea.
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