Common Toad

Common Toads are familiar to many people and are often encountered when on migration to their breeding ponds. These mass movements can result in many dozens of individuals attempting to cross roads and other obstacles as they undertake the hazardous journey in search of a mate. Toads seem to prefer to spawn in fairly deep water, the male clasping the female tightly from behind as he attempts to fertilise her long strings of spawn. Mating aggregations can involve large numbers of males all competing for access to the larger females (see photograph).

Behaviour and Ecology

Common Toads are sit and wait predators and seize prey with their long (2.5cm), sticky tongues. The tongue is rooted to the front of the mouth which gives extra reach, very handy when feeding on unwary earthworms or other invertebrates. Glands on the toad's skin offer it protection from many predators, since these secrete a strong smelling, distasteful toxin. To back this up, the toad may also adopt a head down, hindquarters raised posture which emphasizes the glands on the back.

The strings of toad spawn can reach several feet in length and develop into tadpoles. The length of time that these spend in the pond varies depending on weather conditions and water temperature, with most toadlets leaving the pond in June or July. Just 5% of these may survive to reach adulthood but if they do, then they can look forward to up to another ten years of life. Since males are able to breed at about three years of age, while females do not breed until at least four years of age, males usually outnumber females at the breeding ponds.

Identification

The Common Toad is more heavily built than a frog, about 15cm long, and with a brown warty skin. Some individuals can be almost brick-red in colour while others may be grey or even olive. Females are larger than males. Toads may call at night, with the male producing a 'release' call - a rather high-pitched 'qwark-qwark-qwark' sound, of relatively low volume. The mating call itself is rarely heard and is slower with more drawn out syllables. Common Toads normally walk but will hop if alarmed.

The use of gardens - results from Garden BirdWatch

Although Common Toads were reported in all months of the year, there is a clear seasonal cycle, with the reporting rate increasing to a peak in July before falling again through the autumn and winter. This matches the known hibernation period, which typically runs from mid-October to mid-March. Toads hibernate singly or in groups in dry locations close to their breeding ponds.

Seasonality in the use made of gardens by Common Toads during 2003

Results from the BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch show that while Common Toads are found in just over half of those rural gardens submitting records, they are much less commonly reported from urban and suburban gardens. This pattern is different from that seen in the Common Frog, which seems to be equally common across all garden types. This suggests that Common Toads may be the less adaptable of the two species and that urban and suburban gardens do not hold the resources needed.

Differences in the use of rural, suburban and urban gardens during 2003

Common Toads are found across most of Britain but are absent from much of the highlands and islands of Scotland. In addition, they are absent from Ireland. Perhaps surprisingly, the reporting rates from Scotland and Wales are somewhat higher than more southerly regions. Click here to see a map showing the distribution of Common Toads within gardens at the national level, as recorded by BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatchers during 2003.

Regional variation in the use of gardens by Common Toads

Click here to see what the region codes on the above graph mean.