spring frog n
1 = tree frog n 1. [Because they are often heard early in the spring]
1803 in 1913 Auk 30.337 sePA, March 11. Wood Cock . . arrived. Spring Frog whistles. 1939 Copeia 129 neKY, Pseudacris brachyphona. . . —A very common spring frog. Breeding begins as early as February 12, when the marshes ring with the songs of this species and of Hyla crucifer. 1942 Amer. Midland Naturalist 28.297 Ocracoke Is. NC, The small, green “spring-frog” (Hyla? sp.) described to me by the islanders may also have disappeared in the past few years. 1950 WELS WI (Small frogs that sing or chirp loudly in the spring) 1 Inf, Spring frogs; 1 Inf, Could be tree frogs or just spring frogs. 1955 Herpetologica 11.30 seVA, A frog . . resided in his mailbox. It proved to be a [Hyla] squirella, which species was known to our informant by the name “Spring Frog.” 1965–70 DARE (Qu. P21) 85 Infs, chiefly Sth, S Midl, Spring frogs. 1973 Allen LAUM 1.325 MN, NE (as of c1950), Infs were asked to name the small tree frog (Hyla crucifer) to be heard making shrill peeping sounds in the bushes near lakes or marshes in the spring. . . Three infs. . . have spring frog. 1986 Pederson LAGS Concordance Gulf Region, 138 infs, Spring frogs; 1 inf, Spring frog—little green frog, tiny, long legs; 1 inf, Spring frogs—fall from sky in a rain, locals say; 1 inf, Spring frogs—rainfrogs. 2006 News & Observer (Raleigh NC) 15 Jan sec A 26 (Internet), Deep in the swamps the peeping of early spring frogs can be heard.
2 Any of var frogs of the genus Rana, esp R. clamitans or a leopard frog n. [From their occurrence in springs]
1825 NY Acad. Sci. Annals Lyceum Nat. Hist. 1.282, I present indications of six new species. . . Rana fontinalis, or common spring frog. 1842 Thompson Hist. VT 1.120, The Spring Frog. Rana fontinalis [=Rana clamitans]. . . It is common in most of the small streams, and especially about springs, and hence its name, Spring Frog. 1842 DeKay Zool. NY 3.62, The Spring Frog is one of our commonest species, and is that usually eaten as a delicacy. . . It is one of the earliest that appears in spring. 1861 Atlantic Mth. June 752 MD, Each of these young gentry is armed with a dead spring frog, perhaps by way of tribute. 1894 U.S. Natl. Museum Proc. 17.339 FL, Rana Pipiens. . . It is called “spring frog.” 1928 Baylor Univ. Museum Contrib. 16.10 LA, TX, Spring Frog is a name frequently applied to the Green Frog on account of its being frequently found in the vicinity of springs. (Texarkana, Texas, and Gayle, Louisiana.) 1932 Wright Life-Hist. Frogs 423 Okefenokee GA, Some of the residents of the swamp maintain its [=the southern leopard frog’s] common name of “Spring Frog” is from its ability to leap or spring. Others hold it likes springy places but usually it is called “spring frog” from its time of breeding and croaking in the spring months. 1938 in 1970 Hyatt Hoodoo 2.1472 seGA, Yo’ gets yo’ a frog. Yo’ hunt fo’ an’ get chew a toadfrog [Hyatt: land frog]—a spring frog [Hyatt: water frog] won’t do. c1967–69 DARE (Qu. P21, Small frogs that sing or chirp loudly in spring) Inf IL74, Spring frog—different from a tree frog, spotted; LA2, Spring frog—he’s a fairly large frog, spotted; LA22, Spring frog—you eat him—he’s spotted and larger than a rain frog; (Qu. P22, Names or nicknames for a very large frog that makes a deep, loud sound) Inf GA19, Spring frog. 1969 DARE FW Addit seGA, Spring frog—frog which stays around springs and springy water. 1986 Pederson LAGS Concordance Gulf Region, 8 infs, Spring frogs; 1 inf, Spring frog—long-legged, long jumper; 1 inf, Spring frog—bullfrog—because he can jump so far; 1 inf, Spring frog—green frog or branch frog; 1 inf, Spring frog—it jump for 6 foot; 1 inf, Spring frog—a young bullfrog; 1 inf, Spring frogs—long, green, slim-bodied, around water; 1 inf, Spring frog—slender, looks like bullfrog; 1 inf, Spring frog—long and slender, large.