African Common Toad

African Common Toad

Sclerophrys gutturalis

Silhouette: Michael Scroggie, from original photograph by Gary M. Stolz, USFWS (original photograph in public domain). · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Harare

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

12 Verified sightings at Harare
132 In all 4 parks From 2019 to 2026
November Best month
☀️🌙 Day & Night When it's spotted

About the African Common Toad

Sclerophrys gutturalis, the African common toad or guttural toad, is a species of toad in the family Bufonidae. It is found in Africa in a region stretching from Kenya west to Angola and south to South Africa. This includes southern Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats include forest, savanna and wetland areas. In particular, subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, dry savanna, moist savanna, temperate shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, intermittent rivers, freshwater lakes, intermittent freshwater lakes, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, arable land, pastureland, rural gardens, urban areas, heavily degraded former forest, ponds, and canals and ditches.

The guttural toad... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Advertisement call1:29

South Africa · 2023

© Marc Anderson · XC883721 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Recording0:16

South Africa · 2021

© Luke Perkins · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Recording0:11

South Africa · 2023

© biddyb · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 iSimangaliso Wetland Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
2 Masai Mara National Reserve 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%
3 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
~10%
4 Table Mountain National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Lilongwe 🇲🇼 Malawi
~50%
2 Pretoria 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
3 Lusaka 🇿🇲 Zambia
~30%
4 Durban 🇿🇦 South Africa
~30%
5 Harare 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe
~20%
6 Johannesburg 🇿🇦 South Africa
~20%
7 Nairobi 🇰🇪 Kenya
~10%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 National Zoological Park 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Kyiv Zoo 🇺🇦 Ukraine In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing an African Common Toad in Harare?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report an African Common Toad sighting in Harare on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see an African Common Toad in Harare?

November

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an African Common Toad in Harare on a given day, against under 5% in May–September and December, the lowest months. That is one of Harare's wettest months, with about 95 mm of rain against almost none in August.

What time of day is best to see an African Common Toad?

Between 6 and 9 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most African Common Toad sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.

Is Harare the best place to see an African Common Toad?

5th of 7

Of the 7 cities where we can rate African Common Toad sightings, Harare ranks 5th at about 20%. The best odds are in Lilongwe (Malawi, about 50%), Pretoria (South Africa, about 30%) and Lusaka (Zambia, about 30%).

Where does the African Common Toad sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the African Common Toad is recorded against all the amphibians logged in Harare (12 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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