Toads (family Bufonidae) are a type of amphibian that includes many common species, such as the American toad and the common toad. Amphibians lack the ability to produce their own body heat and possess permeable skin. The combination of these biological traits makes toads susceptible to the drying effects of the daytime sun and heat, driving their activity patterns. Toads are predominantly nocturnal animals, meaning their lives are governed by the cycle of darkness.
Primary Activity Patterns
Toads are largely active between dusk and dawn. Their emergence usually begins around twilight as the sun sets and temperatures begin to drop. This pattern allows them to maximize their movement and foraging time under the most favorable conditions.
Some species may also exhibit crepuscular behavior, meaning they are active primarily during the twilight hours of dawn and dusk. This twilight activity often represents the beginning or end of their main nocturnal foraging period. While local conditions like heavy rain or high humidity can occasionally prompt daytime movement, the default rhythm for most toads remains tied to the nighttime hours.
Environmental Factors Driving Night Activity
The primary reason toads are nocturnal is a direct biological defense against desiccation, or drying out. Toads absorb water through their permeable skin, meaning they lose moisture rapidly when exposed to dry air or direct sunlight. During the day, solar radiation and higher temperatures accelerate this water loss to a degree that is often life-threatening.
Nighttime provides higher relative humidity and lower air temperatures, which reduces the rate of moisture loss from the toad’s body surface. The cooler nighttime environment also helps with thermoregulation, preventing the toad from overheating, as they cannot regulate their body temperature internally like mammals. This environmental necessity transforms the night into the only time they can safely move and carry out survival activities.
Daytime Behavior and Shelter
Since the day is hazardous, toads spend their inactive hours seeking secure, damp, and cool shelters, or refugia. These daytime retreats are carefully selected to conserve moisture and maintain a stable, low body temperature until nightfall.
Common hiding spots include burrows they may excavate themselves by backing in and using their hind legs to push away soil, or existing natural features. Toads frequently utilize dense leaf litter, spaces beneath rocks, wooden logs, or damp soil near building foundations. Finding a secure shelter also serves the secondary purpose of predator avoidance. Their cryptically colored skin helps camouflage them, but remaining hidden minimizes the risk of being seen by diurnal predators like birds.
Nocturnal Hunting and Diet
The nocturnal period is reserved for foraging. Toads are carnivores with a broad diet consisting mainly of invertebrates such as spiders, earthworms, slugs, snails, and various insects like beetles and ants. A single toad can consume a significant number of pests, making them highly beneficial in gardens and agricultural areas.
Their primary hunting strategy is sit-and-wait predation, where they remain stationary until a suitable prey item moves into range. The toad uses its keen eyesight, adapted for low-light conditions, to detect movement. They secure their meal with a rapid flick of their long, sticky tongue, capturing the prey and swallowing it whole.