Anaxyrus cognatus
Field ID: A large, olive green, gray, or brown warty-skinned toad. Light stripe down middle of back. Pattern of large, dark blotches with light borders is symmetrical on either side of midline. Prominent bony ridges on head meet to form a hard bump on snout. Parotoid glands are large and oval. Size: 2–4½ inches (5–11.4 cm).
Habitat: Shortgrass and sandhills prairie, agricultural land, semidesert shrublands.
Distribution: Throughout eastern Colorado from the plains to the foothills, up to about 6,000 feet; in the San Luis Valley between 7,500 and 8,000 feet.
Field Notes: This large toad is active mainly at night from May to September, though it can also be active on cloudy, rainy days. The male’s breeding call is a series of jackhammerlike pulses. Eastern Plains reservoirs with fluctuating water levels and ponds that form with spring rains make up the primary breeding areas. Seasonal precipitation is so important that in years of no rain, these toads don’t breed. Though widespread in eastern Colorado, populations of Great Plains toads are localized and not abundant.
Legal Status: Nongame.