Common Toad

The common toad, Bufo bufo, also called the European toad, is found through most of Europe apart from Iceland, Ireland and parts of Scandinavia, as well as western North Asia and northwestern Africa. It grows to about 15 centimeters, larger in the south of its range, with a broad head, bulging parotoid glands behind the eyes and greyish-brown, warty skin ranging from brown to olive-brown, sometimes marked with darker blotches or bands. Mostly nocturnal, it hides during the day and emerges at dusk to hunt invertebrates, favoring coniferous and deciduous woodland in wet locations but also adapting to open countryside, fields, parks and gardens. It is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, though it faces localized declines from habitat loss, wetland drainage and road deaths during breeding migrations.