Homing and Orientation of Displaced Toads, Bufo americanus, to Their Home Sites

Abstract

A field study of movements of displaced adult Bufo americanus was conducted using a trailing device to follow the animals. Normal toads, after displacements up to 235 m, were able to orient generally homeward, but many animals returned to their former sites by indirect routes, moving first to a shoreline, then turning more directly homeward. Normal toads under both clear skies and complete cloud cover showed similar orientational ability. Neither blinding nor ablation of the olfactory tracts appreciably altered the animals' ability to home successfully. The specific sense involved in orientation was not identified.