the.com/spring peeper

means A small North American chorus frog (Pseudacris crucifer) known for the loud, high-pitched peeping call males make in early spring to attract mates.

from Straightforward and literal: 'spring' for the season when they wake from winter torpor and start calling en masse, and 'peeper' from the sharp, repeated peep of its call — an imitative word, like 'cheep' or 'chirp', describing the sound itself rather than borrowing from any deeper root. The species name 'crucifer' is Latin for 'cross-bearing', a nod to the faint X or cross-shaped marking on its back, visible if you're lucky enough to actually spot one of these pea-sized ventriloquists instead of just hearing the swamp erupt around dusk.