American toads, Bufo americanus, are only native to the Nearctic region. They are found throughout large portions of North America, from northern Chihuahua in Mexico, northward to James Bay in Canada and eastward from the Imperial Valley of California and the Columbia River Valley in Washington and Oregon to the Atlantic coast from Florida to southern Quebec. They are generally not present in the most southern states or, if they are, only in the northern part. These toads have an immense ability to adapt to their surroundings as long as there is a source of semi-permanent water for them to use in the breeding season. This quality has allowed them to successfully colonize suburban and agricultural areas.
American toads require a semi-permanent freshwater pond or pool for their early development. They also require dense patches of vegetation, for cover and hunting grounds. Given these two things and a supply of insects for food, American toads can live almost everywhere, ranging from forests to backyards. They are common in gardens and agricultural fields. During daylight hours they seek cover beneath porches, under boardwalks, flat stones, boards, logs, wood piles, or other cover. When cold weather comes, these toads dig backwards into their summer homes or may choose another site in which to hibernate.
American toads have short legs, stout bodies, and thick skins with noticeable warts. These warts can be colored red and yellow. The warty skin contains many glands that produce a poisonous milky fluid, providing these toads with excellent protection from many of their predators. This poison is only harmful if it is swallowed or if it gets in the eyes, but it can make many animals very sick.
In the wild most American toads probably don’t survive more than a year or two. The majority die before transforming from tadpoles into toadlets. However, they are capable of living much longer. Some toads have lived longer than 10 years in the wild. There is a documented account of a captive toad that lived to the ripe old age of 36 and was killed by mistake.
American toads are mainly nocturnal. They are most active when the weather is warm and humid. They are solitary, congregating only at breeding ponds in the early summer and late spring. During the day American toads hide under rocks or logs or dig into dead leaves and soil. In regions with a cold winter, American toads dig deeper to hibernate. When digging they back in, pushing out dirt with their back legs.
The main predators of American toads are snakes. One species, eastern hognose snakes, specializes on eating toads. Some snakes, such as garter snakes, are immune to the poisonous glands of American toads. When these toads are faced with a predator that is immune to their poison they will sometimes urinate on themselves to become a less attractive meal. They also inflate their bodies with air to make themselves more difficult for a snake to swallow.
Female toads prefer to lay their eggs in ponds without fish. The eggs they lay are countershaded: lighter on the bottom and darker on the top to blend in with the background when viewed from above or below.
Tadpoles avoid predators by swimming in very shallow water, and by swimming close together in schools during the day. They also have toxic chemicals in their skin that discourage some potential predators. Metamorphosed toads are cryptically colored, and are actively mainly at night, making it harder for predators to find them.
American toads are responsible for controlling the populations of many kinds of insects. The number of insects they eat makes them a crucial part of controlling these populations.
There are no negative impacts of American toads on humans.
American toads eat many species of pest insects and other invertebrates. They are widely considered friends to gardeners and farmers. The toxins produced by their skin may eventually prove useful in medical research.
please note i did not identify it correctly until after video was made
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This is my 9 yr old student Robert Kwok playing Bach’s Allemande and Gigue from Partita No. 1 in B-flat at the Junior Bach Festival in Berkeley, Ca in 1994 - warts and all! How cute is this?
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