The Eastern American Toad

Some people call these common creatures "hop toads", and they do indeed move about in short hops rather than long leaps. Most toads are brown, but their colour can range from grey-brown to red-brown. Breeding males have a black throat and are smaller than females. Toads emerge from hibernation and fill the night air with long, trilling calls in May and June. Strings of 6 to 12 thousand eggs are laid in warm shallows; the small dark polliwogs develop rapidly and transform into miniature toads by September. Toads are among the last amphibians to hibernate each fall, and may be seen into late November.

Toads have a dry, "warty" skin. The "warts" are glands that contain a white sticky substance intended to turn away predators biting the toad. Handling toads will not cause warts in people. Some people say toads have the most "character" of all the amphibians. They are the most commonly seen frog in towns because they frequent backyard gardens and front lawns, often staying in one area all summer. Their hind feet have special small knobs for shoving soil aside so they gradually sink and bury themselves.

Toads eat a variety of invertebrates, especially ants, beetles, slugs, spiders and mites.

Dead toad, middle of the road