. The Canadian field-naturalist. 1981 Notes 347 IflUlttlliii •'' -^TnHmttr r, if. Figure 1. Comparison of the size of the female Canadian Toad, Bufo amerkanus hemiophrys, 62 mm snout- vent, with its prey, a nestHng Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus. doptera feeding is apparently rare as only two are noted from the 16 adult toads examined by Moore and Strickland (1954). However, much of the range of this toad is in moderately arid environment of aspen parkland and the northern periphery of the short- grass prairie. It shows morphological trends to arid adaptations (Cook 1978). At least
. The Canadian field-naturalist. 1981 Notes 347 IflUlttlliii •'' -^TnHmttr r, if. Figure 1. Comparison of the size of the female Canadian Toad, Bufo amerkanus hemiophrys, 62 mm snout- vent, with its prey, a nestHng Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus. doptera feeding is apparently rare as only two are noted from the 16 adult toads examined by Moore and Strickland (1954). However, much of the range of this toad is in moderately arid environment of aspen parkland and the northern periphery of the short- grass prairie. It shows morphological trends to arid adaptations (Cook 1978). At least occasional oppor- tunistic feeding on relatively large prey (such as Lepi- doptera) could be an advantage in such habitats where the potential active period is limited by periodic arid- ity and generally cool evenings during a relatively short annual activity period (May through Sep- tember). This might be particularly true of females that are maturing eggs for the subsequent breeding season. Later examination of the toad's stomach revealed that it was moderately full, containing beetle remains (wings etc.) and soft-bodied insects. Heat- wole and Heatwole (1968) indicated that size of prey attacked tended to decrease with amount of food pre- viously taken, but this does not seem to have held true in this individual. We are indebted to W. E. Godfrey and H. Ouellet of the National Museum of Natural Sciences Ornithol- ogy Section, who confirmed the identification of the avian remains; and to James A. Johnston, Herpetol- ogy Section, who photographed the preserved specimens. Literature Cited Alexander, T. R. 1964. Observations on the feeding behav- ior of Bufo marinus (Linne). Herpetologica 20(4): 255-259. Barbour, T. 1930. Some faunistic changes in the Lesser Antilles. Proceedings of the New England Zoological Club 11: 73-85. Bragg, A. N. 1957. Some factors in the feeding of toads. Herpetologica 13(3): 189-191. Campbell, P. M., and W. K. Davis. 1968. Vertebrates in stomachs of B
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