Althouse: Breakfast at 0:09.

June 29, 2025

Breakfast at 0:09.

Just a quick bite.

I see the "Scream" face in the camouflage:

20 comments:

rehajm said...: Suburban safari with a kill!; 6/29/25, 9:55 AM
James said...: Small sample size, obviously, but I'm guessing this toad has a much higher hunting success rate than the average bullfrog. Watching giant bullfrogs be so incredibly inept at capturing what's right in front of them is hilarious.; 6/29/25, 10:01 AM
Kai Akker said...: Cute. Perhaps not meant as a cafe post, but....

I may well have missed it, been busy. Any comments from Drago lately?; 6/29/25, 10:11 AM
Kai Akker said...: I wouldn't mind hearing from farmgirl, either, if she's out there reading.; 6/29/25, 10:13 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Cool frog.; 6/29/25, 10:18 AM
Wince said...: Life in the food chain.

AI Overview
Many animals eat toads, including snakes, birds, and other mammals:

Snakes: Hognose snakes specialize in eating American toads, and some snakes, like garter snakes, are immune to toads' poisonous glands.

Birds: Crows, kites, and other birds of prey eat toads. Crows may flip toads onto their backs and eat their organs, or they may eat the whole toad, including the poison bit. Kites may eat the tongues of roadkill toads.

Other mammals: Raccoons eat the undersides of toads, avoiding the skin on their backs and heads. Skunks are opportunistic hunters that eat toads, along with other small mammals and amphibians. Dogs are also known to kill toads, but they may not like the taste.

Toads have a defense mechanism against predators, secreting a foul-tasting toxin from their skin glands when threatened. However, some predators are not deterred, and others have developed strategies to overcome the toxin. For example, meat ants are unaffected by the toxin and can eat toads without reacting. Australian water rats, called rakali, have learned to eat cane toads by removing the poisonous gallbladder and eating the heart and other organs.; 6/29/25, 10:34 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: Now you see it, now you dont.; 6/29/25, 10:51 AM
RCOCEAN II said...: ever eat a toad? Many parts are edible.; 6/29/25, 10:53 AM
Iman said...: I see Harry Chapin a little above the frog’s right front leg.; 6/29/25, 11:04 AM
Iman said...: No… wait… it’s the Ayatollah Khomeini!; 6/29/25, 11:05 AM
Dude1394 said...: I love toads. We have a bumper crop this year. Starting out as small pencil eraser size and quickly growing as fast as they can so daddy toad doesn’t get them.; 6/29/25, 11:13 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I see a baby bird or a baby alien. Depending on how scared I want to be I guess.; 6/29/25, 11:13 AM
FullMoon said...: "Kai Akker said...
I may well have missed it, been busy. Any comments from Drago lately?"

Nope. Hoping for the best; 6/29/25, 11:17 AM
Quaestor said...: A toad, not a frog. I'm informed the difference isn't trivial. This one is Anaxyrus hemiophrys, the Canadian toad, a rare species in most of the United States.

The pareidolia of toad camouflage is interesting. Most people see faces in the random splotches and warty texture. I see toad camouflage in random faces.; 6/29/25, 11:23 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Toads are frogs; 6/29/25, 11:51 AM
Mary E. Glynn said...: Leave the wildlife alone.
Stop standing over them, taping them.
Just keep walking... or stand still.
Why is this hard?; 6/29/25, 11:56 AM
Temujin said...: I see "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte".; 6/29/25, 12:11 PM
Josephbleau said...: “ Toads are frogs”

All terrapins are turtles but not all turtles are terrapins.

All toads are frogs but all frogs are not toads.; 6/29/25, 12:25 PM
James said...: Yes, all toads are frogs but not all frogs are toads. Roughly speaking, the world of "frogs" (Anurans) splits into three families, "true frogs" (Ranidae family, think bull frogs), "tree frogs" (Hylidae family, think, well, green tree frogs), or "toads" (Bufonidae family, think toads).; 6/29/25, 12:55 PM
Kai Akker said...: Yes, and thank you, FullMoon.; 6/30/25, 7:15 AM