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Although many people find it difficult to discover the differences in the frog and the toad, there are some very simple ways to discover these with only a minimum of observation. Near water when we hear a croaking chorus, we automatically think we are listening to frogs. But even as we walk along the borders of our flowers during the early evening and spy one of these hopping creatures many of us think we are seeing a frog. In general it would be easy to group toads and frogs together simply because they are both somewhat squat bodied creatures. But in truth they are distinctly different. While frogs, even the ones that live in trees are always near water; toads prefer to spend most of their time living on land. Frogs have a relatively smooth, supple skin but the toad has a wrinkled or warty appearing rough skin. Another interesting difference is the coloration of the two. While frogs tend to come in various colors that help them blend with their environment, most toad’s range in color from a mottled brown to a dull blackish gray. This does not mean that all toads are dull in color, since some species such as the variegated toad are found with brightly colored skin as well.
The British toad or Bufo calamita, is a common and interesting species from the Bufinodae family. From the Anura order this amazing creature is considered what scientist call a true toad. Its rather short hind legs and its squat fat body characterize the true toad, which has a somewhat difficult time moving around with any speed. The British toad can be found throughout the central European countries and is a very adaptable creature. It makes its presence known around the month of April each year and may be around as late as September. The leathery appearing skin of this creature is a mottled grayish brown and it has a voice that will carry for quite some distance. Interestingly, the British toad is not very selective about the water it chooses as a spawning sight. These interesting nocturnal creatures have been found calling from shallow ditches, puddles and even areas of water that have been found to be quite salty.
The chorus of the British toad is at its grandest during the warmer months between April and July. This is when the spawning season is at its peak. The males sing out shortly after dusk to attract the females and if their water supply does not dry up, they can be heard singing for weeks. The mature female British toad will make a single appearance at the spawning site to choose her mate. Once mating has occurred she will make her exit after depositing her eggs. Unlike some frogs, which tends to lay its eggs in masses, the toad will deposit each egg separately to form a single strand. The eggs hatch rather quickly and metamorphose takes from one to three months with the young toads leaving the water to begin their life on land. It is believed that the speed with which these events take place is a type of adaptation that made by the British toad due to their use of temporary water areas for spawning.
British toads feed mainly on insects, worms and whatever small animals they can catch with their tongue, which acts like fly paper to capture prey. Each day right before dawn, these amazing creatures will burrow into the mud at their chosen spawning sight to wait for sunset. During the colder months of the year the British toad will burrow deep into the mud, going into a kind of hibernation until spring. During this time their body processes will slow allowing them survive in this manner until warmer weather arrives. There are many myths about the handling of toads causing warts. But this is most definitely untrue since a virus that infects the skin causes warts. It is believed that this myth came about due to the rough appearance of the toad’s skin. Even so, some true toads do secrete a type of poison that is known to irritate the mucus membranes and can be quite deadly to some of their predators.
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