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Photo: Carl Raven |
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UK
Safari Tip:
Need help identifying amphibians and reptiles? Try this superbly
illustrated fold out ID chart - click
here
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Latin name: Bufo bufo
Size: A male toad is around 65 mm in length. The females are around 25mm longer. Sometimes larger toads can be found, and these are usually females.
Distribution: Found throughout England, Scotland and Wales, but not in Ireland.
Months seen: All year round.
Habitat: Fields, hedgerows, gardens and woodlands.
Food: Worms, slugs and insects.
Special features: Common Toads are Britain's largest and heaviest amphibians.
The colour of the toad varies according to the colour of the soil in its habitat. If the soil is a greyish
colour, the toads skin tends to be greyish to blend in. If the soil is more brownish, the toad tends to be more brownish.
Being creatures of habit, you can often find them in the same spot week after week, but because they are able to blend in with their background, and remain motionless for hours at a time, they can be difficult to spot.
Toads are easier to find in the springtime when they often walk for long distances across land to return to their breeding ponds. This is usually the original pond where they developed.
When the baby toads first leave the ponds they look like miniature replicas of their parents |
A toad stalks its prey until it's close enough to shoot its sticky tongue out and catch it. To help swallow its food, it blinks to push the food down.
Although they are normally associated with water toads, and frogs, spend most of their lives on dry land. They will rest in the same hiding place each day, after their nightly hunt for food.
The skin of the Common Toad is cool and dry to the touch, but it contains a substance that burns the mouths of animals if they try to eat one.
 Frogs
and Toads - Only £7.99
This fascinating book reveals all sorts of curious and unexpected facts
about our native frogs and toads plus how you can help in their
conservation. |
Amphibian Identification Chart in the Nature Shop
What's an Amphibian?
How to Tell the Difference between a Frog and a Toad
UK Safari Amphibian Section
More websites about amphibians
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