Common Toad
Bufo bufo
Least ConcernFast Facts
About
The common toad is a stout, warty amphibian found throughout much of Europe, with dry, bumpy skin ranging from olive-brown to brick-red and striking copper-coloured eyes. Unlike frogs it tends to crawl rather than hop and prefers drier habitats away from water for most of the year.
It is a valuable ally in the garden, consuming large numbers of slugs and insects under cover of darkness.
Behaviour
Each spring, common toads undertake a mass migration back to their ancestral breeding ponds, often the very pool in which they were spawned, braving roads and other hazards in great numbers.
When threatened, a toad can puff itself up and stand tall to appear larger, and its skin secretes a foul-tasting toxin that deters many predators.
Did you know?
- Common toads return to breed in the exact pond where they themselves hatched
- Glands behind the eyes produce a toxin that makes them distasteful to predators
- Volunteers run 'toad patrols' to help migrating toads cross busy roads in spring
- A toad can live well over a decade, far longer than most frogs
Distribution
Across Europe and into western Asia and North Africa
