Northern Waterthrush

Seiurus noveboracensisOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Wood Warblers (Parulidae)

Codes: Common Name: NOWA Scientific Name: SEINOV ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178931

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous, Forest edge, Bushes, shrubs, and thickets, Marshes, freshwater, Swamps

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Cream or buff with brown or gray spots and specks

Number of Eggs:

3 - 6

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Lined with grass, animal hair, moss, twigs, pine needles, bark strips, and roots.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Northern Waterthrush: Large, ground-walking warbler with dark brown upperparts and white to pale yellow underparts with dark, heavy streaks. Eyebrows are thick and white. Sexes are similar. Bobs tail as it walks.

Range and Habitat

Northern Waterthrush: Breeds from Alaska and much of Canada south to the northern U.S. Spends winters in the tropics. Prefers cool, dark, wooded swamps, thickets of bogs, margins of northern lakes, and willow and alder bordered rivers; during the spring and fall migration, often found in thick cover along streams, marshes, and stagnant pools.

Breeding and Nesting

Northern Waterthrush: Three to six cream or buff eggs with brown or gray specks and spots are laid in a nest made of moss and set in a bank, at the base of a trunk, or in the roots of an overturned tree. Eggs are incubated for approximately 13 days by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Northern Waterthrush: Eats insects, spiders, snails, small fish, and crustaceans; forages by gleaning foliage, catching insects in flight, and hovering.

Readily Eats

Sugar Water, Fruit, Nut Pieces

Vocalization

Northern Waterthrush: Song is "chee-chee-chee, chip-chip-chip-chew-chew-chew", loud and ringing, speeding up at the end. Call is a sharp "chink."

Similar Species

Northern Waterthrush: Louisiana Waterthrush has longer bill, unspotted throat, and buff wash on underparts

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Northern Waterthrush

Northern Waterthrush: Large, ground-walking warbler with dark brown upperparts and white to pale yellow underparts with dark, heavy streaks. Eyebrows are thick and vary from pale yellow to white. It flies swiftly in a direct line for short distances. Territorial in both its winter and summer ranges.

● Song: "twi-twit-twit-sweet-sweet-sweet-chew-chew-chew"

● Foraging & Feeding: Northern Waterthrush: Eats insects, spiders, snails, small fish, and crustaceans; forages by gleaning foliage, catching insects in flight, and hovering.

● Breeding & nesting: Northern Waterthrush: Three to six cream or buff eggs with brown or gray specks and spots are laid in a nest made of moss and set in a bank, at the base of a trunk, or in the roots of an overturned tree. Eggs are incubated for approximately 13 days by the female.

● Similar species: Northern Waterthrush: Louisiana Waterthrush has longer bill, unspotted throat, and buff wash on underparts

Flight Pattern

Swift strong direct flight.

● Range & Habitat: Northern Waterthrush: Breeds from Alaska and much of Canada south to the northern U.S. Spends winters in the tropics. Prefers cool, dark, wooded swamps, thickets of bogs, margins of northern lakes, and willow and alder bordered rivers; during the spring and fall migration, often found in thick cover along streams, marshes, and stagnant pools.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^Population

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.8 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America