The American Toad 



food only. He must " lie low," approach cautiously but rapidly, 

 move most alertly at the final moment, and perhaps meet with 

 disappointment after all, as the grasshopper takes wing or the 

 caterpillar rolls into a motionless ball. Then there is always the 

 possibility of a lurking enemy. It may be a snake that lives under 

 the wood-pile and is out on his afternoon hunt, or an owl that 

 nests in the hollow oak and in the dusk approaches so silently that 

 the first intimation of her nearness is the clutch of sharp claws. 

 Or a skunk may roll the toad under his paw, preliminary to swal- 

 lowing it. 



The chase must always be an 

 eager one, because the toad is 

 always hungry. His gastronomic 

 ability is so great that he must 

 have four meals per day, or rather 

 his stomach must be filled and 

 emptied four times in each twenty-four 

 hours. He must therefore hunt and eat 

 almost incessantly in order to get 

 much as he needs. 



The tongue of the toad, with which 

 he catches his food, is admirably adapted 

 to it swork. It has a sticky surface, from 

 which escape of the prey is impossible, 

 and it is fastened at the front instead 

 of at the back. The latter fact jnakes it 

 possible for the toad to throw the tongue 

 well out of the mouth. (Fig. 49.) 



The toad eats almost all kinds of 

 small living things that are out in the 

 late afternoon and at night. He may 

 sit for an hour or more on the back step 

 and catch the flies and mosquitoes that 

 come to the screen-door in their attempt 

 to get into the house. He sits with head 

 bent forward and eyes looking very 

 bright and intelligent. When he sees 

 a fly alight within two inches of his 

 nose, he makes no perceptible move- 

 ment of the head or body. 



Fig. 49. To show the 

 movement of the toad's 

 tongue in catching an insect. 

 The tongue is fastened in 

 front instead of at the back 

 and can be extended fully 

 two inches, in an exceed- 

 ingly rapid movement. Its 

 surface is sticky. 



81 



