First-rains frog chorus of the Guinean savanna and forest

Reed frogs (Hyperolius), running frogs (Kassina), grass frogs (Ptychadena), tree frogs (Leptopelis), Hoplobatrachus, toads; the Nimba viviparous toad in the highlands. Whole country — most accessible around Kindia, Dalaba, N'Zérékoré, Guinea.

Best time: 15 May – 31 Jul (May to July). Where: Kindia – Chutes de la Voile de la Mariée surroundings, Dalaba plateau ponds, N'Zérékoré rice fields (Guinea). Time of day: Dusk to about 01:00, loudest in the 2 hours after a downpour.

• You can go on your own
• Free
• No binoculars needed
• Sound 5/5

Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.

When is the best time?

Peak: 15 May – 31 Jul. The nights after the first storms (mid May to July); the rains here are among the heaviest in West Africa

Active from 1 May to 30 Sep (May to September) in a typical year.

Time of day

Dusk to about 01:00, loudest in the 2 hours after a downpour

• Night chorus: sunset → 01:00

What will you hear?

Wall-to-wall reed frogs, running frogs' bell notes and tree frogs from every flooded field and forest pool; thunder and rain are part of the take.

Binoculars?

No binoculars needed. Chorus from any roadside pool after rain; a torch, not binoculars.

Where to go

• Kindia – Chutes de la Voile de la Mariée surroundings — Forested falls area 2 hours from Conakry; pools and wet forest. Map
• Dalaba plateau ponds — Cold highland ponds; a different assemblage. Map
• N'Zérékoré rice fields — Forest-zone rice paddies; very loud choruses. Map

How to go on your own, and what it costs

Any roadside pool or rice field after rain; no fee, no guide.

Cost: Free (2026).

Field-recording notes

Rainy-season rules: humidity at 100%, desiccant, rain covers, lightning plan. Roads become rivers in July. Nobody minds a night by a rice field; tell the village.

Sources

• xeno-canto – sound archive

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More: all spectacles in Guinea · frog and toad choruses · May · June · July