Common Toad (Bufo bufo)
AmphibianToadEurope
A common toad in grass at Lill-Jansskogen, Stockholm, Sweden.
Image: Korall, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Overview
The common toad (Bufo bufo) is a large, heavily built toad of Europe and western Asia. A genetic study placed the species' samples from northern France east to Russia, including the Apennine and Balkan peninsulas and most of Anatolia, and assigned toads in Iberia, most of France and North Africa to a separate species, Bufo spinosus.
It has dry, warty skin, usually brown or olive-brown, a horizontal pupil in a copper to golden eye, short hind legs, and large parotoid glands that can release a whitish, bitter, poisonous secretion when the toad is threatened. It usually walks or crawls rather than hops, though it can hop when alarmed.
In British accounts, adult males grow up to 8 cm long, and females are larger: up to 10 cm by one account and 13 cm by others. A UK figure gives a weight of up to 80 g.
Habitat & Range
Away from the breeding season, common toads live on land, in woodland, scrub, coarse or tussocky grassland, hedgerows, gardens and parks, favoring fairly dry or slightly damp places with plenty of cover; they tolerate drier ground than the common frog. To breed they prefer deeper water — small lakes, large ponds, fish and farm ponds, reservoirs and still stretches of rivers — and tend to use larger, deeper ponds than common frogs, where their toxic tadpoles can survive alongside fish.
In the British Isles the species is widespread in Britain but absent from Ireland.
Diet
Adults eat invertebrates such as insects, spiders, earthworms, slugs and snails, which they stalk at night and catch with a sticky tongue. Small toads take mainly mites, ants and springtails, while larger toads sometimes eat small vertebrates, including slow worms, small grass snakes, harvest mice and younger toads. Tadpoles eat mainly algae and plant matter, switching gradually to animal food.
Behavior
Common toads are mainly nocturnal, resting by day in shallow burrows, although they are active by day in the water during the breeding season, and newly metamorphosed toadlets are diurnal. They spend the winter under cover — in burrows, among tree roots, under logs and stones, or in mud and compost. Some accounts call this hibernation; others say toads do not truly hibernate and may come out to forage in milder spells.
Each spring adults migrate, often en masse on mild, damp nights, back to the same breeding water, typically along the same routes. Accounts differ on the timing, from mid-February in a warm, moist spring to late spring; one account says most move in March and April.
Human Interaction & Conservation
Common toads also live close to people, in gardens and parks in villages and towns. Many are killed on roads during the spring migration — an estimated 20 tonnes a year on UK roads — and on suitable nights volunteer toad patrols help them across at known toad crossings.
IUCN's global assessment lists the common toad as Least Concern (2023).
Reproduction & Life Cycle
At the breeding ponds males arrive first and compete for females, clasping them from behind in amplexus; when males outnumber females, several may clasp a single female, which can drown. Breeding usually starts a little later than that of the common frog.
Females lay long double strings of eggs, wound around water plants. Reported clutch sizes range from an average of about 1,500 eggs to 3,000–8,000, and hatching is reported after 10 days to four weeks. The black tadpoles often form shoals; they metamorphose after 2 to 3 months by one account, or around 16 weeks by another, and leave the water as tiny toadlets 7–11 mm long. Toads mature after 2–4 years.
Common toads can live up to 12 years in the wild, though an average lifespan of up to 4 years is also given; the longest recorded life in captivity is 40 years.
Sourced facts
Each value below is traced to the specific reference that states it. Open a row's evidence to see the source, where to look in it, and how firmly it supports the value. Sources checked 2026-10-20.
| Fact | What the source states | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Distinguishing traits | A large, heavily built toad with dry, warty, usually brown or olive-brown skin, a horizontal pupil in a copper to golden iris, short hind legs and large parotoid glands that can release a whitish, bitter, poisonous secretion when threatened. It usually walks or crawls, though it can hop when alarmed.Color varies from olive-brown to green, dark brown or gray, and may be darker. Males are smaller than females, with thicker forelimbs, longer hind limbs and, in the breeding season, dark nuptial pads on the first three fingers. | Matches source · Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG), Froglife, Woodland Trust, The Wildlife Trusts — how we knowNaturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG)
Froglife
Woodland Trust
The Wildlife Trusts
|
| Geographic range | Genetic sampling assigns to Bufo bufo the toads from northern France east to Russia, including the Apennine and Balkan peninsulas and most of Anatolia. In the British Isles it is widespread in Britain but absent from Ireland.North African, Iberian and most French populations are now assigned to Bufo spinosus and Caucasus toads to B. verrucosissimus, so older ranges covering those areas describe the broader complex. B. bufo and B. spinosus meet in a narrow contact zone in northern France, and Jersey's toads have been assigned to B. spinosus, though one field guide still lists Jersey for B. bufo. | Matches source · Naturalis Biodiversity Center institutional repository (record of Recuero et al., Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution), British Herpetological Society (The Herpetological Journal; Arntzen, Wilkinson, Butôt & Martínez-Solano), Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG), Froglife, Woodland Trust — how we knowNaturalis Biodiversity Center institutional repository (record of Recuero et al., Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution)
British Herpetological Society (The Herpetological Journal; Arntzen, Wilkinson, Butôt & Martínez-Solano)
Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG)
Froglife
Woodland Trust
|
| Habitat | On land: woodland, scrub, coarse or tussocky grassland, hedgerows, gardens and parks, favoring fairly dry or slightly damp places with plenty of cover. Prefers deeper water for breeding: small lakes, large ponds, fish and farm ponds, reservoirs and still stretches of rivers and brooks.Also found in small-scale cultivated areas, gardens and parks in villages and towns, and more tolerant of dry habitats than the common frog; it tends to breed in larger, deeper ponds than common frogs. It occurs up to 2300 meters in the south of its range — a figure from an account that does not mention Bufo spinosus, so it may include populations now placed in that species. Toad tadpoles carry toxins that make them unpleasant for predators to eat, which lets them survive in deep ponds with fish. | Matches source · Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG), Froglife, Woodland Trust, The Wildlife Trusts — how we knowNaturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG)
Froglife
Woodland Trust
The Wildlife Trusts
|
| Diet | Adults eat invertebrates such as insects, spiders, earthworms, slugs and snails; small toads take mainly mites, ants and springtails, and larger toads sometimes eat slow worms, small grass snakes, harvest mice or younger toads. Tadpoles eat mainly algae and plant matter.Toads hunt at night, sneaking up on prey and catching it with a sticky tongue; aphids and ants are among their prey. Tadpoles switch gradually from plant to animal matter. | Matches source · Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG), Woodland Trust, The Wildlife Trusts, Froglife — how we knowNaturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG)
Woodland Trust
The Wildlife Trusts
Froglife
|
| Body size | Adult males up to 8 cm long; females are larger, up to 10 cm by one account and up to 13 cm by others.sources disagreeAll four figures come from British or British Isles accounts that do not say how length was measured. Newly metamorphosed toadlets are 7–11 mm long. | Sources disagree · Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG), Froglife, Woodland Trust, The Wildlife Trusts — how we knowWhat each reading says
Maximum female length disagrees: one field guide gives up to 10 cm, while two other accounts give up to 13 cm, and a fourth gives 8–13 cm without separating the sexes. Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG)
Froglife
Woodland Trust
The Wildlife Trusts
|
| Body mass | Up to 80 g.A UK figure; sex, sample and method are not stated, and no museum or research source with measured body masses could be read. | Matches source · The Wildlife Trusts — how we knowThe Wildlife Trusts
|
| Lifespan | Wild: up to 12 years. Captivity: up to 40 years (maximum longevity record). An average lifespan of up to 4 years is also given.The captive record is rated as based on a medium sample size with acceptable data quality. The 4-year average does not say whether it refers to wild toads or how it was derived. | Matches source · Human Ageing Genomic Resources: AnAge, The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database (Build 15), The Wildlife Trusts — how we knowHuman Ageing Genomic Resources: AnAge, The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database (Build 15)
The Wildlife Trusts
|
| Activity pattern | Mainly nocturnal, resting by day in shallow burrows; also active by day in the water during the breeding season, and new toadlets are diurnal. Winters under cover (burrows, tree roots, logs, stones, mud or compost); sources differ on whether this is true hibernation.sources disagreeIn the UK it can be seen from February to October. | Sources disagree · Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG), The Wildlife Trusts, Froglife, Woodland Trust — how we knowWhat each reading says
Two accounts say toads hibernate over winter; two others say they do not truly hibernate but overwinter, and may come out to forage in milder spells. Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG)
The Wildlife Trusts
Froglife
Woodland Trust
|
| Social structure | Adults gather en masse at breeding ponds in spring. Males arrive first, compete for females and ride on their backs (amplexus); normally one male holds a female, but a surplus of males can form a ball around one female, which may drown. Tadpoles often form shoals or swarms.Breeding males clasp almost anything resembling a female, including other amphibians, fish and floating objects, and some males ambush females on the way to the pond. | Matches source · The Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust, Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG), Froglife — how we knowThe Wildlife Trusts
Woodland Trust
Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG)
Froglife
|
| Reproduction | Breeds in spring, usually a little later than common frogs. Females lay long double strings of eggs wrapped around water plants, and the black tadpoles often form shoals. Toads mature after 2–4 years. Clutch size, hatching time and larval period differ between accounts.sources disagreeEach string holds two rows of eggs. | Sources disagree · Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG), Woodland Trust, Froglife, The Wildlife Trusts — how we knowWhat each reading says
Clutch size: 3000–8000 eggs in two strings by one account, versus an average of 1,500 with up to 5,000 recorded by another. Hatching: after 2 to 3 weeks, two to four weeks, or after 10 days. Larval period: metamorphosis after 2 to 3 months, versus maturing in around 16 weeks. Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG)
Woodland Trust
Froglife
The Wildlife Trusts
|
| Movement | Each spring adults migrate, often en masse on mild, damp or rainy nights, back to the same breeding water, typically their natal or ancestral pond, along the same routes. Some later return to overwintering areas, and newly metamorphosed toads migrate away from the ponds.sources disagreeMany toads are killed on roads during the migration — an estimated 20 tonnes a year on UK roads — and on suitable nights volunteer toad patrols help them across at known toad crossings. | Sources disagree · Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG), Froglife, Woodland Trust, The Wildlife Trusts — how we knowWhat each reading says
Timing differs: one account says adults emerge and start migrating in late spring, while others say early spring (from mid-February in a warm, moist spring, but mostly in March and April) or the first warm, damp evenings of the year, often around St. Valentine's Day. Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG)
Froglife
Woodland Trust
The Wildlife Trusts
|
| Conservation status | Least Concern (LC), global assessment, 2023 | Matches source · IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — how we knowIUCN Red List of Threatened Species
|
References for the facts above
- UniversityNaturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG)Supports: identification, range, habitat, diet, body-size, activity, social-structure, reproduction, movement. Retrieved 2026-10-20.Limitations: Undated field-guide account written for the British Isles; it does not mention Bufo spinosus and lists Jersey (whose toads Arntzen et al. assign to B. spinosus), and its altitude figure is for 'the south of its range' without saying where. Some reproduction figures differ from UK charity pages.
- UniversityNaturalis Biodiversity Center institutional repository (record of Recuero et al., Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution)Supports: range (post-split delimitation of Bufo bufo, B. spinosus and B. verrucosissimus). Retrieved 2026-10-20.Limitations: Abstract only; the full text was not read. It describes the B. bufo clade by where its samples came from rather than giving a complete range.
- ReferenceBritish Herpetological Society (The Herpetological Journal; Arntzen, Wilkinson, Butôt & Martínez-Solano)Supports: range (species status of B. spinosus; contact zone in northern France; Jersey populations). Retrieved 2026-10-20.Limitations: Abstract only; the full text was not read.
- Wildlife referenceFroglifeSupports: identification, range, habitat, diet, body-size, activity, social-structure, reproduction, movement. Retrieved 2026-10-20.Limitations: UK-focused charity page without references; the URL redirects to /who-we-are/common-toad-2/. Its 'late spring' migration timing and two-to-four-week hatching time differ from other sources.
- Wildlife referenceThe Wildlife TrustsSupports: identification, habitat, diet, body-size, weight, lifespan, activity, social-structure, reproduction, movement. Retrieved 2026-10-20.Limitations: UK-focused summary page without references; its statistics (length, weight, 'average lifespan: up to 4 years') give no sex, sample or method. Its distribution line (absent from 'Scottish islands') was not used.
- Wildlife referenceWoodland TrustSupports: identification, range, habitat, diet, body-size, activity, social-structure, reproduction, movement. Retrieved 2026-10-20.Limitations: UK-focused page without references; its clutch size, hatching time and larval period differ from Naturalis, and it says toadlets usually leave ponds in May (not used).
- ReferenceHuman Ageing Genomic Resources: AnAge, The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database (Build 15)Supports: lifespan. Retrieved 2026-10-20.Limitations: The 40-year captive maximum cites a secondary web page (ref. 451, 'Frank & Kate's Web Page'); the wild figure cites Smirina (1994). AnAge rates the sample size 'Medium' and data quality 'Acceptable'.
- ReferenceIUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesSupports: The global Red List category and the year of the assessment. Retrieved 2026-10-20.Limitations: Read from the Red List export IUCN publishes to GBIF; iucnredlist.org itself does not answer automated reads. Categories are reassessed over time.
Frequently Asked Questions — Common Toad
Are common toads poisonous?
Their skin glands contain toxins. When threatened, a common toad can release a whitish, bitter, poisonous secretion from its large parotoid glands, and even its tadpoles carry toxins that make them unpleasant for predators to eat.
Do common toads hibernate?
They spend the winter under cover, in burrows, among tree roots or under logs, stones or compost. Some accounts call this hibernation; others say common toads do not truly hibernate, because they may come out to forage during milder spells.
When do common toads migrate to their ponds?
Each spring, often en masse on mild, damp nights, returning along the same routes to the same breeding water. Migration can start in mid-February in a warm, moist spring; one account says most toads move in March and April, and another describes the migration as starting in late spring.
How long do common toads live?
Up to 12 years in the wild, with an average lifespan of up to 4 years also given. The longest recorded life in captivity is 40 years.
Sources and further reading
Authoritative wildlife references used for general educational context. Conservation status should always be verified against current IUCN Red List data. External links open in a new tab.
- UniversityNaturalis Biodiversity Center (Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles, Linnaeus NG) — Common toad, Reptiles and Amphibians of the British Isles — identification, range, habitat, diet, body-size, activity, social-structure, reproduction, movement
- UniversityNaturalis Biodiversity Center institutional repository (record of Recuero et al., Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution) — Recuero et al. 2012, Bufo bufo species complex (abstract) — range (post-split delimitation of Bufo bufo, B. spinosus and B. verrucosissimus)
- ReferenceBritish Herpetological Society (The Herpetological Journal; Arntzen, Wilkinson, Butôt & Martínez-Solano) — Arntzen et al. 2014, Bufo spinosus in Jersey (abstract) — range (species status of B. spinosus; contact zone in northern France; Jersey populations)
- Wildlife referenceFroglife — Common toad species page (UK) — identification, range, habitat, diet, body-size, activity, social-structure, reproduction, movement
- Wildlife referenceThe Wildlife Trusts — Common toad, Wildlife Explorer (UK) — identification, habitat, diet, body-size, weight, lifespan, activity, social-structure, reproduction, movement
- Wildlife referenceWoodland Trust — Common toad species page (UK) — identification, range, habitat, diet, body-size, activity, social-structure, reproduction, movement
- ReferenceHuman Ageing Genomic Resources: AnAge, The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database (Build 15) — Bufo bufo longevity entry — lifespan
- ReferenceIUCN Red List — Bufo bufo assessment — The global Red List category and the year of the assessment