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American Toads are medium-sized creatures with very dry warty skin, and they move by hopping rather than leaping. The ground color of an American Toad can be dark brown, grayish, yellowish-brown, light brown, or reddish. Some are covered with dark spots but others are almost plain in color. Each dark spot on the back will include only 1 or 2 warts (Fowler’s Toads have some dark spots containing 3 or more warts). In American Toads the cranial crests are more pronounced than those of Fowler’s toads and are totally separated from the bulging parotoid glands or connected to them only by a short spur. Also, on American Toads some warts on the lower part of the hind leg (tibia) are larger than the warts on the upper part (femur). On a Fowler’s Toad, all of the hind leg warts are about the same size. Female American Toads often grow to be much larger than the males and are often much more colorful.
American toads can be found statewide and live in a wide variety of habitats but seem most partial to woodlands. They breed mostly from mid-March through May in temporary ponds, especially water-filled ruts left behind by logging equipment, ATVs, and other vehicles. The eggs are laid in long beadlike strings, and to some people, they resemble coils of some small animal’s intestines laid out on the bottom of a pool. The call is a long, drawn-out musical trill that can last up to a half-minute; each male in a chorus calls at a slightly different pitch.