The common toad is an amphibian found throughout most of Europe, with the exception of Ireland, Iceland and some Mediterranean islands. It is an inconspicuous animal as it usually lies hidden during the day, becoming active at dusk and spending the night hunting for the invertebrates on which it feeds. It moves with a slow ungainly walk or short jumps and has greyish brown skin covered with wart-like lumps. Although usually a solitary animal, in the breeding season large numbers converge on certain breeding ponds, where the males compete to mate with the females. Eggs are laid in gelatinous strings in the water and later hatch out into tadpoles. After several months of growth and development, these sprout limbs and undergo metamorphosis into tiny toads. The juveniles emerge from the water and remain largely terrestrial for the rest of their lives. The common toad seems to be in decline in part of its range but overall is listed as being of "Least Concern" in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is threatened by habitat loss, especially by drainage of its breeding sites, and some toads get killed on the roads as they make their annual migrations. It has long been associated in popular culture and literature with witchcraft.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_toad

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1467:

Troops under Stephen III of Moldavia defeated the forces of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary in present-day Baia, Romania. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baia

1791:

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights

1906:

The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway, a 14.17-kilometre (8.80 mi) long deep-level underground tube railway connecting Hammersmith and Finsbury Park, London, opened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Northern,_Piccadilly_and_Brompton_Railway

1961:

Former Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death after being found guilty on fifteen criminal charges, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Eichmann

2010:

A boat carrying around 90 asylum seekers, mostly from Iraq and Iran, crashed into rocks and sank off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing 48 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Christmas_Island_boat_disaster

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

mango: To remove the innards of, stuff (especially with spicy foods), seal and pickle or pour boiling vinegar over (a fruit). https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mango

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

In time of crisis, we summon up our strength. Then, if we are lucky, we are able to call every resource, every forgotten image that can leap to our quickening, every memory that can make us know our power. And this luck is more than it seems to be: it depends on the long preparation of the self to be used. In time of the crises of the spirit, we are aware of all our need, our need for each other and our need for our selves. We call up, with all the strength of summoning we have, our fullness. --Muriel Rukeyser https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Muriel_Rukeyser