New research has discovered the extent to which common toads actually live in trees.
Toads are known to spend time both on land and in water during breeding, but they have not been previously known to spend time in trees.
This is the first time the tree-climbing potential of amphibians has been investigated at a national scale, and was only discovered because the team were looking for dormice and bats. The toads were found in nest boxes and tree cavities by volunteers who were working as part of the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme and the Bat Tree Habitat Key project.
50 records of common toads were found in these surveys, but the number could be much greater, due to the fact that the surveys do not regularly looking in tree hollows higher than 3m up a tree.
The study highlights the importance of sharing data between conservation organisations working with different species. It also presses the fact that we should be protecting our remaining woodland habitats for wildlife. Froglife research in 2016 showed that common toads have declined by 68% over the last year across the UK.
Top image credit: Getty Images