The male is territorial, attacking other Tokays and other intruders.
Their mating call, a loud croak, is variously described as sounding like token, gekk-gekk or poo-kay from which both the common and the scientific name (deriving from onomatopoeic names in Malay, Sundanese, Tagalog, Thai, or Javanese), as well as the family name Gekkonidae and the generic term gecko come.