Peeper frog

Posted by ESC on February 18, 2004

In Reply to: "When peepers sing..." posted by Brian from Shawnee on February 18, 2004

: : : Hello,
: : : Can anyone tell me anything about this phrase? I am wondering what kind of bird they mean and the origin of the saying...

: : : "When peepers sing loud and long and late, the weather will cooperate."

: : : Thank you!
: : : Lorie

: : I'll look and see if I can find this one under weather-related sayings. One thing I am wondering about is whether "peepers" refers to birds or crickets.

: I think it's "spring peepers" they're talking about. They are little nocturnal frogs that live in trees and bushes in woodlands and forest edges, and on warm nights with the windows open you can hear them making their racket. They are pretty common throughout the northeastern U.S.

: If you never heard one, or live in a region of Earth where they don't exist, you can go here to find out about them and even listen to what they sound like: www.cmnh.org/ collections/vertzoo/frogs/crucifer.html

PEEPER - 1. also peep(er) frog, peeper toad, peeping frog. A tree frog, chiefly NEast, N Cent.cricket frog, hyla, March peeper, night peeper, spring peeper.sounding much like a bird's call-note, comes from the moss and leaves at the water's eduge.Peeper - Pickering's frog, called by some "swamp lizard," the much loved musical harbinger of spring in Pennsylvania bogs and ponds. 2. A chorus frog. 3. sanderling. From "Dictionary of American Regional English," Volume IV by Joan Houston Hall (2002, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., and London, England).

Merriam-Webster online says a sanderling is " a small widely distributed sandpiper."

• Peeper frog Smokey Stover 19/February/04
  • Peeper frog Brian from Shawnee 19/February/04