I take a degree of pride in recognizing Missouri wild flora and fauna species. I’m no botanist, biologist, ornithologist or herpetologist, but I like to be able to call things by their proper names when I see or hear them. As for their Latin names, I’ll never figure those out.
A summer night earlier this year left me a little puzzled, but thanks to good resources, I was able to add to my understanding and identify two different but similar species.
We were sitting around the campfire at the edge of a small fishing pond, watching the sun set on the far horizon. The night grew darker, and the chorus grew louder as the evening amphibians started their songs.
One particular tune was getting louder and the singer moving closer to our lawn chairs. The rhythm and repetitive nature made me guess toad, but it was not the familiar high-pitched trill of the Eastern American toad I recognized from home.
Eventually he waddled just past our fire ring and let out a call that gave away his presence nearby. A quick scan with the flashlight found him, just in time to see his lower lip balloon and his mating call ring out. It was a toad, and it looked a lot like the ones I have been picking up and playing with (and getting warned of warts about) my whole life, but that was not a familiar tune he was singing.
I have outgrown picking up toads and never really worried about the warts, even though my little hands got wet more than a few times. I prefer to just let them do their thing, knowing that their lives are perilous enough without some unnecessary handling.
I tried Google searches that night but never solved the riddle. After I came home, I went to my resource file and found a handy reference booklet from the state Department of Conservation titled “Missouri's Toads and Frogs” by herpetologists Jeffrey T. Briggler and Tom R. Johnson.
There on page 11 was the answer I was looking for. The Fowler’s Toad looks a lot like his American cousin, but his call “is a short nasal w-a-a-a-b, lasting from 1 to 2.5 seconds,” according to Briggler and Johnson.
Both species are considered common in the area, and the other descriptions of them are similar, including coloration variations like gray, light brown or reddish brown for the American, and gray, tan or brown for the Fowler’s. Both also have dark markings around warts and a thin light stripe down their backs. They are similarly sized, between two and four inches in head and body length, with the Fowler’s slightly bigger.
In addition to the different tunes they sing, the American toad’s breeding season is earlier in the spring, usually finishing by early May. Fowler’s get started in late April and continue into June, the time we were out to hear the song, so time of year will help with identification.
Toads and frogs provide food for a number of species. A frog’s leaping ability is his defense for escaping predators, but a toad relies on his ability to secrete foul-tasting toxins when handled. Toads generally are not harmful to humans, although it is a good idea to wash your hands if a toad slimes you. But they will not cause warts.
What they eat is the real advantage toads and their relatives provide to our natural surroundings. They eat mounds of insects. Landowners can help them proliferate by allowing or creating small, fishless ponds in the spring, and providing brush or other cover in the shallow water to protect them from predators. Keeping livestock out of those ponds also provides for better water quality and plant life to sustain the growing tadpoles.
Being able to tell the difference in species by their song is a great campfire skill that anyone can learn, according to Briggler and Johnson. “You don't have to be a trained biologist to be able to recognize their various sounds; it just takes practice and a lot of patience.”
John Winkelman is Marketing Director for Liguori Publications near Barnhart, Mo., and the Associate Editor for Outdoor Guide Magazine. If you have story ideas to share for the Leader outdoor news page, e-mail ogmjohnw@aol.com, and you can follow John on Twitter at @johnjwink99.