The midwife toad, or alyte, was photographed on August 3, 2011, on the low wall of Bourgon Castle.
Disturbed by the repair work, it decided to move elsewhere. It’s a toad that you often hear croaking (little, flute-like, spaced-out “toûtoû toû” sounds) but that you almost never see near the ponds: it’s the midwife toad.
In fact, this toad mates on land. The male wraps the string of eggs around his hind legs and carries his young on his back until they hatch. To ensure they don’t run out of water, the toad makes a point of regularly (at night) dipping its eggs in a pond or puddle.
That’s when the hatching takes place. The rest of the time (during the day), it stays hidden under a rock or buried in a pile of dirt or sand, and it plays the flute to pass the time!