Common Toad
Bufo bufo

The Common Toad is declining in the UK and is not as common as it once was.  Like all amphibians it breeds in water but spends much of the rest of the year on land.

DESCRIPTION

Size: Adult grows up to 5-11cm/2-4.5" long

Colour: Usually brown or brown-green with some dark markings on the back.  Belly is a lighter colour and can be spotted.  Colour can be dependent upon the environmental conditions the toad experiences.

Markings: Can have some dark markings on the back but nothing distinctive.

Identifying features:

• Dry, warty skin.  

• The eye has a bronze coloured iris and horizontal slit pupil.

• Has a gland behind each eye that secretes toxins, making it distasteful to predators.

• Moves by crawling but can do small hops.

Diet: Slugs, worms and insects - a true gardeners friend!

Breeding: Males and females emerge from hibernation around February/March and head straight to ponds to breed.  Toads return to ancestral ponds, following the same migration route each year.  Males are much smaller than females and many stop on the migration route waiting for the females to arrive so they can hitch a ride.  Toad spawn is laid in strings of double- or triple-stranded, wrapped around plants in deeper parts of ponds.

Habitat: Shelters under logs, stones and plant pots during the day; often found hibernating in woodland.  Toads return to the same ancestral ponds year after year to spawn.

Dislikes: Exposure to the sun, cats, road salt, drains and traffic.

CURRENT STATUS: The Common Toad is now a BAP (Biodiversity Action Plan) species.  There have been declines in toad numbers in much of lowland England and similar decreases are thought to have occurred in Wales and Scotland. This appears to be partly due to the effect of road traffic during the breeding season and also due to loss of breeding ponds; for more info see Toads on Roads.  Protected by law against trade.

DISTRIBUTION: 
In your garden... Prefers large, deep ponds often with fish - fish do not like to eat toad tadpoles because they find them distasteful.
UK: Widespread and common in England, Wales and Scotland (except the Northwest, where it is rare or absent).  Not found in Ireland. 

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