Identification- 2-5" (5-13 cm) A medium sized, terrestrial anuran with warty skin. They are highly variable in color, the base color can be light brown, dark brown, grayish or reddish. Dark spots on the back contain one or two reddish warts. There may be a light stripe on spine. Belly cream, spotted with black. Males have a dark throat.
    Voice- a musical trill or growl lasting up to 30 seconds.
    Similar Species- See Fowler's Toad.

Range- Found throughout NY and PA, except Long Island
 

Habitat- Varied habitats. The American Toad is common in grasslands, suburbs, gardens, marshes, and forested habitats. Two important requirements are a body of water in which to breed, and abundant insect life upon which to feed. They are active from April to October.

Reproduction- Females are an inch (2.5 cm) or so larger than males. For the most part they are explosive breeders, all the individuals in a population congregate and breed within a period of 1 to 2 weeks in mid spring. At this time the choruses are deafening.  Males outnumber females at the breeding sites, and females tend to choose larger males to enter amplexus.  A double string of several thousand eggs are deposited.  Tadpoles emerge a week later.  One and a half to two months later metamorphosis is completed.  The toadlets mature in 2 to 3 years.

General Characteristics-
This species spends its days in an underground burrow, but emerges at night to feed on insects. They also eat earthworms, caterpillars, and other invertebrates. American Toads are the most common amphibian throughout much of our range, but their nocturnal habits prevent many people from seeing them frequently. Search for them during the day by flipping cover to unearth their burrows. A distinctive defensive behavior of this species is to urinate when captured. Although unpleasant, this does not give people warts. To combat predation this species inflates its body with air, pulls its legs close to its body, and position its snout underneath its body. This presumably makes it more difficult for predators to attack the toad, and the predators first connect with the poison glands. The American Toad tolerates colder temperatures than Fowler's, hence its wider distribution. It remains active later than Fowler's Toad, but hibernates before the first winter frost.