The common toad is a drowsy-looking amphibian of brown or olive-brown color. The underside is typically white or gray, and the eye, which has a horizontal pupil, is copper in color. Adult male toads grow to a length of 8 cm, whereas the larger females can be up to 13 cm long. Common toads secrete a foul-tasting, irritant chemical [bufagin] from their warty skin, and this toxin deters most predators from eating them.
Common toads are largely nocturnal. They are found in ponds only in the breeding season; during the rest of the year they live solitary on dry land. Common toads have a broad diet, feeding on a huge range of prey small enough to swallow, including insects, spiders, earwigs, earthworms, snails and slugs. They feed only on land and use a ‘sit-and-wait’ style of hunting. In between forays for food, toads return to their hideaways, usually shallow excavated burrows.