[1][2] The specific name mcgregori honors Richard Crittenden McGregor, an Australian ornithologist who collected the holotype.

[4] Ansonia mcgregori is a terrestrial toad associated with cool mountain streams and rivers in lower montane and lowland forests at elevations of 300–1,700 m (980–5,580 ft) above sea level.

Although it is generally restricted to undisturbed or minimally disturbed habitats, a few individuals have been found in secondary forest, plantations, small-scale agroecosystems, and in the floor of a cave surrounded by farmland–disturbed lowland dipterocarp forest mosaic.

It is threatened by habitat loss caused by small-scale agricultural activities, large-scale oil palm plantations, wood collection for charcoal production, and expanding human settlements.

Furthermore, agricultural effluents, soil erosion, and mine tailings can impact its stream habitat.