California Toad

californiatoadbg: California ToadCOMMON NAME: California Toad

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Bufo boreas halophilus

DESCRIPTION:

The California toad tends to walk rather then hop. As with all true toads, it can secrete a sticky white poison from its warts and skin glands. Though not deadly it can irritate the eyes and cause illness if swallowed, but will not cause warts. This chunky short-legged toad is 2 1/2 to 5 inches in length. It is dusky-gray or greenish above with “warts” set in dark blotches and often tinged with rust and has a white or cream colored dorsal stripe. Its croak is weak and sounds like the peeping of baby chicks.

LIFE HISTORY:

Mating takes place from January to July. Egg strings are attached to vegetation in shallow, still water. One female may lay 16,000 eggs a year. The eggs hatch into tiny black tadpoles; changing through metamorphosis, they develop legs and loose their tail to become toads.

ECOLOGY:

Niche: Toads eat insects (grasshoppers, crickets. etc.), spiders and snails. Their eggs, tadpoles and the toads themselves are food for many animals (such as raccoons and herons).

Habitat: This species frequents a great variety of habitats: desert .streams, grasslands, woodlands, and meadows near ponds, lakes, reservoirs, rivers and streams. It will make its own burrow or live in a former small rodent home. This toad is nocturnal at warm, low elevations and diurnal at higher elevations.

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