spring peeper

noun

1. a tree frog, Hyla crucifer, having an X -shaped mark on the back and voicing a shrill call commonly heard near ponds and swamps of eastern North America in the early spring.

Word History and Origins

Origin of spring peeper¹

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

I spent much of my final college semester lugging around a parabolic microphone to record the mating calls of spring peeper frogs.

From National Geographic

Amanda West’s favorite sound is the chorus created by spring peeper frogs.

From Washington Post

Indeed, like several of our smaller native reptiles and amphibians, the spring peeper can survive a partial freeze.

From New York Times

Though the spring peeper is a tree frog, it prefers to lie low, clambering up shrubs and vegetation in the forest’s undergrowth.

From New York Times

Locally, the very early breeding spring peeper and the gray tree frog are abundant examples of this success.

From New York Times