24 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 



an unnatural size ; the head is broader than the rest of its body ; the 

 mouth and the eyes are large and prominent. It lives chiefly in 

 ditches, especially in those where stagnant and corrupt water has lain a 

 long time. It is found in dung-heaps, caves, and in swampy portions 

 of woods. One has often been disagreeably surprised on raising 

 some great stone to discover a toad struggling to avoid the notice 

 of the intruder. It is in obscure and sometimes foetid places of 

 refuge that the toad secretes itself during the day ; only going out 

 in the evening in search of food, when the common species employs 



Fig. 7. The Common Toad. 



short hops as its means of locomotion ; another, the Natterjack 

 Toad (Bufo calamitd), is only capable of crawling. When seized, it 

 voids into the hand a quantity of limpid water exuded through the 

 pores of its skin ; but if more irritated, a milky and venomous 

 humour issues from the glands of its back. 



One peculiarity of the toad's structure offers a defence from 

 attack. Its very extensible skin adheres feebly to the muscles, and, 

 at the will of the animal, a large quantity of air enters between this 

 integument and the flesh, which distends the body, and fills the 

 vacant space with an elastic bed of gas, by means of which it is less 

 sensible to external injuries. Toads feed upon insects, worms, and 



