Can Australian Amphibians Leapfrog Taylor Swift For The Christmas #1?

Songs Of Disappearance has returned with Australian Frog Calls in partnership with The Bowerbird Collective and the Australian Museum to create a once-in-a-lifetime collection of native frog calls.

Last year, Songs Of Disappearance took everybody by surprise after Australian Bird Calls was the surprise summer hit album for Christmas time, flying past Ed Sheeran and Adele in the ARIA Chart and globally becoming a cultural phenomenon.

Now, Songs Of Disappearance are hoping that Australian Frog Calls will overtake Taylor Swift, leapfrogging into the#1 position on the Christmas ARIA Chart. The album is bringing attention to FrogID Week. 

This annual event encourages Australians to download the free FrogID app and record the frogs around us "to monitor frog distributions over time, helping us to understand how frogs and their ecosystems are responding to a changing planet." The album also brings sad news: one in six Australian native frog species are currently threatened, with four already extinct.

Dr Jodi Rowley, the Lead Scientist for FrogID and Curator of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Biology at the Australian Museum and UNSW Sydney, has discussed the importance of helping our frogs. 

"Frogs are one of the most threatened groups of animals on the planet – in Australia, at least four species have already been lost to extinction, and many more are under threat. FrogID Week gives a snapshot of frogs calling across Australia, helping us understand where they are and how they are doing," she said.

"Every species of frog makes a unique call. By recording frog calls with the free FrogID app during FrogID Week, anyone with a smartphone can help us understand how frog populations are changing over time and how we can better protect them and our environment."

Songs Of Disappearance: Australian Frog Calls contains over 50 ribbiting frog calls and features recordings made by FrogIDapp users from across the country, including the sadly extinct Gastric Brooding Frog (Rheobatrachus silus), once found in tropical Queensland.

The album is a tribute to Australian frogs. Songs Of Disappearance: Australian Frog Calls is available as a digital download or physical CD, which features a 16-page booklet of photography and liner notes. 

Proceeds from the album's sales will go towards the Australian Museum's national FrogID project, helping it continue to make giant leaps in frog research and conservation through public recordings.

Kermit to helping the native wildlife and pre-order your copy of Songs Of Disappearance: Australian Frog Calls here.