Identification: The Spring Peeper is only .75 - 1.5 inches long, but is has a very powerful high-pitched whistle with the occasional trill that can be heard over long distances. Its color ranges from tan to brown to gray with large toe pads. The only really distinguishing feature common to this species is a dark marking on its back that roughly resembles an "X". This is one of the East's most familiar frogs because of the sound it makes. The chorus of this species is one of the first signs of Spring.

Location: The Spring Peeper can be found from Manitoba to the Maritime Provinces, south through central Florida, and as far west as Texas.

Habitat: Peepers are abundant is wooded areas in or near flooded ponds and swamps. In these ponds, the Spring Peepers will form singing choral groups, making sounds that can almost sound like jingling sleigh bells from a distance.

Reproduction: Breeding for Peepers begins with the onset of warm rains and lasts from November to March in the north, while peepers in the South tend to breed from March to June.

(above photo courtesy Al Richmond, Herpetologist, Biology Museum at UMass-Amherst)

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