Bufonidae 



the white line in the middle of the back. These may be bright 

 red-brown conspicuously bordered with black, the black in its turn 

 being ringed with yellow, and may thus give the effect of yellow- 

 rimmed eyes. The two large swellings (parotoid glands) behind 

 the eyes may have the same colour as the background, or they 

 may differ, being yellow or red-brown when the toad is dull brown, 

 or dull brown when the skin as a whole is yellow or red in tone. 



The female is larger than the male, and is usually lighter and 

 more variegated in colour. In both sexes the granular under- 

 surface is light, sometimes tinged with yellow, red, or brown, and 

 having either few or many dark spots. (See Fig. 62.) The adult 

 male has a blackish throat. 



At the close of a hot summer's day we sit on the doorstep of a 

 country house, delighting in the coolness and repose, and watching 

 the lengthening shadows of grape-trellis, well-curb, and house. A 

 fat toad comes out from under the doorstep, where he has been 

 quietly sleeping all day; another, clean and bright-eyed, comes 

 from under the sidewalk at our feet. They start off with leisurely 

 hops toward the garden to search for caterpillars and other deli- 

 cious morsels of a toad's menu. We watch their retreating backs 

 (Fig. 47) until they disappear among rows of beets and lettuce, 

 and we wish them " good hunting." Night after night, summer 

 after summer, toads come out in search of food. They become a 

 part of the place. They help to make the home and contribute 

 their share in its work. 



Toads choose cool, moist places in which to live. They are 

 often found in cellars, under porches and sidewalks, and in various 

 dark or damp hiding-places.* They seek such locations not only 

 for the shelter, but also for the moisture. A toad never has the 

 pleasure of drinking water in the usual way. All the water that 

 he gets is absorbed through his skin. A toad kept in a dry place 

 grows thinner and more distressed-looking, and is likely to die 

 within a few days; whereas one provided with plenty of moisture 

 remains plump and contented as the weeks go by, even when there 

 is a scarcity of food. 



It would, however, be a great mistake to think that a toad 

 does not take pleasure in drinking. He sprawls out in shallow 

 water or on a wet surface and has a contented expression in his 



1 From this fact probably originated the epithet " loathsome," in connection with the toad. 



78 



