Toads compete in singing contest in Germany

Forget the Eurovision song contest. The most hotly-awaited international music competition of the year takes place in Germany on May 10 -- the second annual international toad song contest.

Fire-bellied toads from Denmark, Germany, Latvia and Sweden will croak it out for the coveted prize, won last time by Sweden "in the glorious tradition of ABBA," says the nature protection society in Schleswig-Holstein state.

 The toads sing out of love, like in any good opera 

Nature protection society

The competitors -- usually between four to seven centimeters (two to three inches) in length -- sound like "church bells underwater" when they break out in song, the society said.

The toads "sing out of love -- like in any good opera," it added.

Indeed, in the wild, males enter their own singing contest every spring with rivals to attract mates. Only those with a clear and beautiful enough voice will be lucky in love.

The competition -- to be telecast on the Internet -- does have a serious side: to raise awareness about the plight of amphibians in Schleswig-Holstein where around half of the state's 15 species are endangered.