Episod 5: Midwife toad – Alytes obstetricans

Ringing bells in the night… who’s making that strange sound?

With the new ” Lend an ear to nature” campaign, the Mouvement Ecologique wants to draw attention to these often-threatened species and their habitats – and combine it with a guessing quiz on the noise of the animal in question.

A total of two short videos on a species of animal from our localities and landscapes will be published each month from the end of April until October.

Guess with us – which animal is making that sound? and win a Naturata voucher worth €50 per spot!

Did you recognise the midwife toad in the clip?

The delicate, bell-like sound comes from the midwife toad – a small, inconspicuous amphibian species with unusual reproductive behaviour. In Switzerland, it is affectionately known as the ‘Glögglifrosch’ (Glöggli = little bell) because of its characteristic call. Its call is mainly heard in the evening hours after sunset from April to August and is used primarily by males to attract females. A special feature of this species is that the females can also respond with calls – in most amphibians, this is reserved for the males.

Way of life

The midwife toad exhibits behaviour that is quite unusual in the animal kingdom and, from a human perspective, ‘progressive’: here, the male takes care of the offspring!

After mating, the male wraps the fertilised eggs around his hind legs and carries them around with him for several weeks. He usually hides close to a body of water on land, for example under stones. Shortly before hatching, it brings the larvae to a suitable body of still water where they continue to develop. This unusual brood care is unique among our native amphibians.

The toad is nocturnal and prefers warm habitats with pools or ponds where there are many hiding places, such as piles of stones and wood, holes in the ground or cracks in walls.

The combination of these preferences is often found in quarries – a typical habitat for the midwife toad!

It feeds on insects, spiders, woodlice, worms and snails.

Risk of confusion: The smaller midwife toad differs from the more common and larger common toad in the vertical position of its pupils. In the common toad, they are horizontal.

Distribution in Luxembourg

In Luxembourg, the midwife toad only occurs in certain places where easily diggable or stony soils offer good hiding places. These include the Luxembourg sandstone region (Luxembourg City, Mamer-Eisch Valley, Müllerthal) and large parts of the Öslings. However, it is absent from the southern parts of the country with heavy soils (Lias in the south-west, Keuper in the east).

Threats to the midwife toad

Due to its diverse habitat requirements (stones/rocks, soil suitable for digging, sunny still waters), the midwife toad’s range is already quite limited geographically, even if our natural environment were otherwise in good condition. However, like most amphibians, it is probably also suffering from the general decline and destruction of wetlands and the use of toxins, such as including pesticides,in our landscape – it is on the Red List’s early warning list and is considered ‘strictly protected’ throughout Europe. However, the exact causes of its decline in this country are not yet known.

How can I help the midwife toad?

Would you like to support the midwife toad? Here are some simple measures you can take:

• Never release fish or turtles into the wild: Do not release fish or turtles into natural ponds, as they can eat the larvae of midwife toads and other amphibians.
• Avoid pesticides: By avoiding toxic substances such as weed killers in your garden, you are helping all creatures that depend on water. This is because these substances can also enter still waters and rivers through the water and are toxic to these animals. On a larger scale, you can support species conservation by buying products from organic farms, where no synthetic chemical pesticides are used.
• Create habitats: Create structurally rich habitats with piles of stones, dead wood or dry stone walls and create fish-free, sunny or semi-shaded ponds.
• Support nature conservation organisations: Get involved in local nature conservation projects, join a nature conservation organisation or campaign for the creation of natural ponds in your local area.

Further information on midwife toads can be found here:

NABU: Species profile: Midwife toad

BUND Naturschutz: Fact sheet: Midwife toad