Boreal toad males don't call like most other toads and frogs to attract females. During breeding season the males simply sit around in the water near the shore, waiting for a female to swim past. Their call is used as a release call. Researchers only hear it when they are handling the toad. When a toad finds a mate, the male toad clasps the female in an embrace called amplexus.
Males literally ride on female backs, sometimes for days.
While the male is grasping the female's back, he drenches the eggs with a milky cloud of sperm. This grasping position guarantees that the eggs will be fertilized. Metamorphosis Long strands of jet black eggs can be seen at the bottom of a still pond or attached to submerged plants. Eggs hatch in about 2 weeks. The young gilled tadpoles that emerge from the egg mass stay underwater until they mature into adults.