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Northern Waterthrush

Status Fairly common in summer. Breeds. Normally arrives about mid-May (average 13 May, earliest 6 May); however, five sightings between 4 and 22 April have also been reported. Such very early birds should be carefully observed and documented to avoid confusion with the Louisiana Waterthrush, which migrates earlier than the Northern Waterthrush. It is widely distributed in tangled thickets of deciduous growth in open, wet woodlands. It is generally secretive during the breeding season, but migrants first appear in late August and may build up to considerable numbers by late September. It is generally last recorded in October (average 17 October, latest 1 November).

Description Length: 13-15 cm. Adults: Upperparts dark olive-brown; pale brown line over eye; underparts pale sulphur yellow, heavily striped with olive-brown or blackish brown, except undertail coverts, which are white; no wing bars.

Breeding Nest: On or near the ground in wet, low-lying tangles of usually deciduous growth, well hidden in a mossy bank or the upturned roots of a fallen tree. Eggs: 4-5; white, speckled and blotched with various shades of brown. A breeding record is furnished by E. Chesley Allen (1916), who watched a pair feeding young on 4 July 1904 at Carleton, Yarmouth County. Several more nestings have been noted in recent years.

Range Breeds from central Alaska, the southern Mackenzie Valley, northern Quebec, and Newfoundland, south to New England and West Virginia, southern Ontario, central Saskatchewan and western Montana. Winters from southern Florida, the Bahamas and Baja California to northern South America.

Remarks Like the Ovenbird, to which it is closely related, it is a walker. It has a dainty mannerism, similar to that of the Spotted Sandpiper, of pausing now and then in its ambling to teeter a few times. Although called a "waterthrush," it is really a large member of the warbler family disguised as a thrush with a strong preference for wet places.

Its song is clear, loud and melodious. Of the several translations given, hurry-hurry-hurry-pretty-pretty-pretty, rapidly enunciated, seems to be most appropriate.

The best field marks are the conspicuous pale line over the eye, the heavily striped yellowish underparts, and its peculiar habit of tipping and teetering while walking.