Main Content
Harbinger of spring, calls of male spring peepers fill the evening air to entice females.
Photograph by George Grall
Map
Spring Peeper Range
Audio
Fast Facts
- Type:
- Amphibian
- Diet:
- Carnivore
- Average life span in the wild:
- 3 years (estimated)
- Size:
- 1 in (2.5 cm)
- Weight:
- 0.11 to 0.18 oz (3 to 5 g)
- Group name:
- Army
- Did you know?
- Spring peepers can allow most of their bodies to freeze during winter hibernation and still survive.
- Size relative to a paper clip:
-
Spring peepers are to the amphibian world what American robins are to the bird world. As their name implies, they begin emitting their familiar sleigh-bell-like chorus right around the beginning of spring.
Found in wooded areas and grassy lowlands near ponds and swamps in the central and eastern parts of Canada and the United States, these tiny, well-camouflaged amphibians are rarely seen. But the mid-March crescendo of nighttime whistles from amorous males is for many a sign that winter is over.
Spring peepers are tan or brown in color with dark lines that form a telltale X on their backs. They grow to about 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) in length, and have large toe pads for climbing, although they are more at home amid the loose debris of the forest floor.
They are nocturnal creatures, hiding from their many predators during the day and emerging at night to feed on such delicacies as beetles, ants, flies, and spiders.
They mate and lay their eggs in water and spend the rest of the year in the forest. In the winter, they hibernate under logs or behind loose bark on trees, waiting for the spring thaw and their chance to sing.
Related Galleries
Amphibian Features
-
It's a Frog's Life
They look like spilled candy. You'll be tempted to scoop one up and cup it in your hands. But let it go, because the red-eyed tree frog's life is an extraordinary journey.
-
Photos: Ten "Lost" Amphibians
From the golden toad to the Turkestanian salamander—the quest begins for the ten likely extinct amphibian species conservationists most want to rediscover.
-
Spotted Salamander
Go underground and meet this salamander that's both large and common, yet so secretive it’s rarely seen.
-
Coming This Fall
Don't miss Great Migrations, a seven-part television event taking you around the world on the arduous journeys millions of animals undertake to ensure the survival of their species.
Animals A-Z
Advertisement
Special Ad Section
-
School Contest
Enter your idea in the Find Your Footprint contest and your classroom and school could win big!
-
Vote Now
Over 14,000 photographs were submitted to the contest. Vote for your favorite finalists!
National Geographic Magazine
-
The Beauty of Insect Eggs
Engineered for survival, insect eggs hang on and hatch wherever their parents deposit them.
-
Eels Photo Gallery
The freshwater eel is one of the few fishes to spawn in the ocean and spend its adulthood in lakes, rivers, and estuaries.
