The Call of the . . .

      Last Wednesday, April 18, a group of sixth grade students from McIntyre Elementary School were exploring ecosystems with me.  As we left the deciduous forest and passed by the Lower Lake, we heard a trilling sound.  (It sounded like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA5sTqGis4A&feature=related )  I love to ask students what they think that sound is.  They guessed birds, crickets, cicadas, and squirrels.  When they learn what it is, they are just as surprised as I was when I learned this sound 20+ years ago


American Toad by Jason Sturnor 72



     This is the male American Toad.  Most people have had some contact with toads.  They are not very fast, so kids can catch them, and they don't bite (since they don't have teeth).  They will venture quite far from the water where they are born and can often be found near homes and gardens.

     Toads are great for teaching about defense mechanisms, or adaptations that enable an animal to survive its predators.  When toads are picked up by predators, children, or environmental educators, they are likely to urinate.  Although it does not discourage environmental educators, a lot of children will subsequently put the toad down so they can wipe their hand off.  Predators, I'm sure, have an even more pronounced reaction, since they have often picked the toad up with their mouth. 

     Toads have a few more tricks up their proverbial sleeve, though.  They can puff themselves up so they are harder to swallow and they excrete a foul-tasting toxin through their skin.  The large parotoid gland behind each eye secretes a powerful steroid that will affect a predators heart, so biting into a toad can be a dangerous undertaking.  Don't overlook their twist on one of the most common adaptations:  camouflage.  A little close observation of toads in various habitats will show you that they are camouflaged to their surroundings, but what happens if they change surroundings. . .THEY CHANGE COLOR!
     We have a toad that lives near our back porch at my home.  She is usually a light brown color that enables her to blend in well with the soil near our house.  Two years ago, though, she decided to hide under the black bag of charcoal beside our grill.  When I lifted up the bag of charcoal, I found a black toad!  It was our same neighborhood toad, but her body color had adjusted to her surroundings.  I don't know how long it takes for toads to change their color - they are certainly not chameleons - but they are able to change their skin color to fit in with the color around them.
     It at all possible, please take some time in the next week or so and go to a pond at night.  Listen for the call of the male toads.  Take your flashlight and quietly sneak up to the edge of the pond.  Maybe you will see a male inflating the air sac under his chin and courting a female.  You may see the larger females in the shallows of the pond responding to the calls of the males or the twisted strands of eggs that they have laid.  No matter what, it will be a special night.  There is nothing like the call of an American toad.