Common Toad | Hainault Forest

Common Toad

Bufo bufo

TQ4792 10/03/2018 ©Raymond Small

Toads have short dumpy legs not built for jumping so they tend to move around by crawling. Their skin is warty unlike frogs that usually have smoother skin. Toads are renowned for migrating in large groups to breeding waters as spring approaches. Sometimes observers mistake males on backs of females as mothers carrying children. However, the young are tadpoles that have to fend for themselves after hatching. Toads are more likely to be seen in springtime when it is the breeding season. Toad spawn is laid in ribbons attached to aquatic vegetation. When young toads appear following the tadpole stage they are often seen on paths, sometimes in huge numbers. During autumn a Toad spends most days hidden in a lair under logs and debris that it has hollowed out. It emerges at dusk to hunt and can travel some distance at night. The collective name for a group of Toads is a "Knot".

TQ4792 05/06/2025 ©Raymond Small
Early summer young toads emerge from the lake following the tadpole stage. They are often seen on paths - sometimes in huge numbers!

Male toads climb and cling onto females and wait for eggs to be laid. Females release double strings of fertilised eggs. Both the eggs and the male's sperm are released into the water where they mix. Fertilization of the eggs takes place outside the body.

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