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Northern Spring Peeper

Pseudacris crucifer crucifer Wied

Who can ignore a deafening chorus of Spring Peepers on a warm spring night? These thumbnail-sized tree frogs leave their woodland hibernation sites as early as March in southwestern Nova Scotia. Perched on grasses and sedges at the edge of ponds or roadside ditches, the males call mates with a shrill "peep peep peep". Their brown or gray colour, always with a dark stripe on the sides of the head and dark markings on the back provide excellent camouflage against the dead spring grasses. If the night is cold, Peepers retreat under leaves and stems. You'll likely hear hundreds before you ever see one.

About 1000 eggs are laid singly on twigs and leaf litter at the pond bottom. Then adults head back to the woods for the summer, fall and winter. The males may continue to call from trees, clinging a metre or more off the ground with adhesive toe pads. Some call occasionally during the day throughout the summer and fall. The tadpoles develop rapidly and transform from July through September.

This treefrog eats mostly soft-bodied invertebrates. Small spiders, moth larvae and water midges are a common food items.

Because they are so easy to hear and identify, and may be very sensitive to changes in their aquatic habitats, Peepers have been the subject of widespread environmental monitoring programs like Nova Scotia's Frogwatch.

Additional Facts and Details

The treefrog family consists of 30 genera and 395 species. The Spring Peeper is a complex of two subspecies. The Northern Spring Peeper has an unspotted belly and is widespread through the range. The Southern Spring Peeper, Pseudacris c. bartramiana, has a spotted underside and is native to southern Georgia and northern Florida.

The X-shaped marking on its back is common in southern populations but in the Maritime provinces is usually distorted or fragmented.

During spring breeding the throat of adult males is black or dark brown, flecked with light yellow.

Size: newly transformed young had bodies from 1.3 to 1.4 cm. Body length of 492 breeding males ranged from 2.0 - 3.3 cm; length of 139 females ranged from 2.7 to 3.7 mm.

Distribution in Canada: Nova Scotia to eastern Manitoba. In the United States, south to northern Florida and west to eastern Texas.

In Nova Scotia, peepers are common in all regions.

Peepers are particularly common in the woodlands adjacent to roadside ponds. They will often move to shrubs in suburban gardens.

Earliest spring record is March 22, in 1983, when 5 males were found on wet pavement during a light evening rain at Forties Settlement area, Lunenburg County.

Latest fall observation is November 5, in 1982, when a freshly killed juvenile was found on the road at the Forties.

Thanks to the help of more than 10,000 Nova Scotians, a great deal is known about Peeper breeding dates and places in Nova Scotia. The Frogwatch site has details from the most recent year, plus more info about Peeper biology.