Field Guide
🦎
Natterjack Toad
Epidalea calamita
Not yet photographed by the community
Rare; yellow dorsal stripe; loud chorus on sandy heathland.
Species Profile
UK Red Data Book (protected); Nationally Scarce A; legally protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
- Lifespan
- 12–15 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 24–60 mm body length; 9–15 g
- Habitat
- Sandy heathland, coastal dunes, shingle banks, and shallow temporary pools with sparse vegetation.
- UK Distribution
- Confined to south-west England (primarily Devon and Cornwall) and the Norfolk coast; resident with declining range due to habitat loss.
- Diet
- Carnivorous; feeds on small invertebrates including beetles, ants, spiders, woodlice, and other arthropods.
- Prey
- Beetles, ants, spiders, woodlice, small insects
- Predators
- Grass snakes, common toads, herons, foxes, and badgers.
- Mating Season
- April to June
- Breeding
- Males produce loud, distinctive trilling calls to attract females. Females lay long gelatinous strings of 4,000–7,000 eggs in shallow pools. Tadpoles metamorphose in 6–8 weeks.
- Behaviour
- Natterjacks are highly vocal, with males producing a loud rattling call during breeding season that can be heard up to 1 km away. They are more terrestrial than other UK toads and move actively across open ground. They are primarily nocturnal.
- •The 'natterjack' name derives from the Old English 'natter' (to chatter) and 'jack' (male), referring to their distinctive loud call.
- •They have a distinctive pale dorsal stripe running down their back, which helps identify them from common toads.
- •Natterjacks prefer temporary, shallow pools that lack fish and large predators, making them dependent on specific wetland management.
- •They are the only truly nomadic UK toad species, often travelling considerable distances between breeding and overwintering sites.
- •Their numbers have declined by over 90% in the past 50 years, making them one of Britain's most threatened amphibians.
🦎
No photos yet
Be the first to photograph a Natterjack Toad and share it with the community.