Northern Waterthrush
Seiurus noveboracensis
Description
A robust
bird with an olive brown back, a whitish to pale yellow buffy eyebrow
and blackish streaks on the breast and brownish legs, which show similarly
on both the male and female, although the male is slightly larger.
Habitat
The Northern
Waterthrush is a terrestrial Warbler that breeds within a mix of deciduous,
coniferous or mixed northern forests near slow moving bodies of water
such as cool, dark and wooded swamps and bog thickets.
Song
The song of the Northern Waterthrush is a series of short loud notes, which are typically grouped into a series of 3-4 notes as represented by "twit twit twit sweet sweet sweet chew chew chew" or "sweet sweet sweet chit chit twit twit chew."
Similar Species
Ovenbird and dullest fall and winter Palm Warbler.
Comments
This species
combines a distinctive side-to-side gait with a continuous bobbing of
its head and wagging of its tail. This bird spends a majority of its time
walking on the ground on moist surfaces, although they may also be found
walking along tree limbs.
Easily detectable in the field due to its loud song and preference for moderately open habitat. The continuous head and tail bobbing are important behaviours for identification.
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Distribution
This species is a summer resident whose distribution includes the northern Yukon, north western District of Mackenzie, south-central and southeastern British Columbia, north, central and southeastern Alberta and easterly across the boreal forested regions of northern and central Saskatchewan, northern, central and southern Manitoba, northern, central and southern Ontario, northern, central and southern Québec, central Labrador and throughout Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. |
