Calling Male Spring Peepers

The photos above show two male Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) photographed in Livingston County, Michigan. The call of the spring peeper is a short, high-pitched "peep!" Females are attracted to the calls of the males, engage in amplexus, and lay fertilized eggs attached to vegetation. Those tadpoles that are able to survive predation and find enough food will metamorphose and leave the pond.

Over large parts of their geographic range, Spring Peepers coexist with many other amphibian species. At the start of their long breeding season in the Midwest, Spring Peepers will be calling at the same time as Western Chorus Frogs and Wood Frogs. Although these species often breed in different types of ponds, there are some wetlands in which Spring Peepers, Western Chorus Frogs, and Wood Frogs all sing together. The Wood Frog breeding season last only a few days, but in a few weeks American Toads will start to call. Occasionally, Spring Peepers and American Toads will call next to each other in the ponds.

The photos below show calling male Spring Peepers from Cuyahoga County, Ohio.