Voice: The note sounds much like our droning Bufo americanus 

 of the north, not like the scream of Bufo fowleri. The trill is perhaps 

 shorter than that of B. americanus. The trill lasts 7-9 seconds, with 

 intervals of 4-60 seconds. It is musical in character. It has been de- 

 scribed as a high trill, a drone, or even a bass roar, for when many 

 are calling close to the observer, the sound is deafening. The choruses 

 can be heard some distance away. Just as in other species, they may 

 give weak notes; individuals may be freakish, hesitant, shrill, or even 

 rarely open the mouth to scream, or with half inflated throat give 

 puzzling notes. Usually when croaking, the throat is distended to its 

 full capacity with the body compressed. Then the body is distended 

 and the throat collapsed. 



The calling toads in cypress ponds and bays may be perched on 

 a log, on a cypress knee, stub or stump, at the base of a cypress or 

 gum tree, on the moss, or resting on aquatic plant stems, leaves, or 

 dead twigs, usually in shallow water or at the edge of a pond. In 

 overflow pools, it may be anywhere in shallow places. Rarely if ever 

 does it float when croaking. It is truly an alert, pert animal. 



Breeding: They breed from March 1, or earlier, to September. 

 The eggs are in long coils of jelly, the egg 1/25-1/16 inch (1-1.4 

 mm.), the outer tube 1/10-3/16 inch (2.6-4.6 mm.), the inner tube 

 1/1 2-1/8 inch (2.2 -3.4 mm.). The eggs, separated in the tube and 

 with no partition apparent between them, number 2500-3000, and 

 hatch in 2 to 4 days. The small tadpole, 1 inch (26 mm.), has the 

 body broader toward the rear, the tail crests narrow, the tail short, 

 rounded, and the eyes dorsal, close together, and is black in color. 

 The tooth ridges are 2/5. After a tadpole period of 30-55 days, they 

 transform from April to October, at 1/4-1/2 inch (6.5-1 1 mm.). 



Notes: "The toad itself, however, is differently built, (from B. 

 americanus) the head being wider and higher, and the arms and legs 

 shorter and more delicate. The eyes, also, are larger and the enormous 

 bony knobs on the large heads of some old females give them a sort 

 of resemblance to species of the tropical Cystignathoid toads Cera- 

 tophrys. Unlike the latter, our toads are gentle creatures, living their 

 lives of usefulness in our farms and gardens." (R. F. Deckert, Copeia, 

 1914, p. 2). m ^ 



In many transient or shallow pools the egg strings are strewn on 

 the bottom. More often the egg strings are attached to or woven 

 about grass, vegetation, twigs or other support in the water. In one 

 pond, we found them in a clear area, and edge of a pond next the 

 Pontederia zone amongst scattering Sagittaria and other water plants. 

 These made a mat about which the eggs were woven. Sometimes 

 they are fastened near the surface in deep pools or along lake edges. 

 The eggs are in long files which are often several feet in length. 



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