European fire-bellied toad in Polissia
Bombina bombina
Caution: skin secretions irritate mucous membranes; wash your hands after touching
The European fire-bellied toad is a small toad with a warty dark back and a bright orange or red belly with black blotches. The pupil is triangular or heart-shaped.
The fire-bellied toad lives in shallow, warm waters: oxbows, ponds, floodplain lakes, ditches and puddles in meadows. In Polissia it is common in river floodplains.
In spring the males sing while sitting in the water – a soft, melodious “oom… oom” that sounds like a little bell and can be heard all night. The toad meets danger by arching its back and showing its bright belly – a warning to predators that its skin tastes unpleasant.
The toad's skin secretions irritate the eyes and mucous membranes, so wash your hands after touching one. Fire-bellied toads suffer from the drying-up of small ponds and from chemical fertilisers washed off fields.
When to see: April–June, in the evenings near water
Where it was seen in Polissia
Observations from the open scientific database GBIF since 1990.
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