Northern waterthrush | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Parulidae |
Genus: | Parkesia |
Species: | P. noveboracensis |
Binomial name | |
Parkesia noveboracensis (Gmelin, 1789) | |
Range of P. noveboracensis Breeding range Wintering range | |
Synonyms | |
Seiurus noveboracensis |
The northern waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) [2] is a species of ground-feeding migratory New World warbler of the genus Parkesia. It breeds in the northern part of North America in Canada and the northern United States including Alaska, and winters in Central America, the West Indies and Florida, as well as in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. [3] It is a rare vagrant to other South American countries and to western Europe. Its closest relative is the Louisiana waterthrush.
The genus name Parkesia commemorates Kenneth Carroll Parkes, American ornithologist and curator of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, and noveboracensis is New York, the type locality from Latin novus, "new" and Eboracum , York. [4]
The northern waterthrush is a large New World warbler (and not a thrush, despite the name). It has a length of 12–15 cm (4.7–5.9 in), wingspan of 21–24 cm (8.3–9.4 in) and weighs between 13 and 25 g (0.46 and 0.88 oz) [5] [6] Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 6.8 to 8.2 cm (2.7 to 3.2 in), the tail is 4.5 to 5.7 cm (1.8 to 2.2 in), the bill is 1.1 to 1.2 cm (0.43 to 0.47 in) and the tarsus is 1.9 to 2.3 cm (0.75 to 0.91 in). [7] On the head, the crown is brown with a white supercilium. The bill is pointed and dark. The throat is lightly streaked brown to black with heavier streaking continuing onto the breast and flanks. The back is evenly brown. Sexes are morphologically similar. Young birds have buff, rather than white underparts.
The species may be visually confused for the closely related Louisiana waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla [2] ), which has buff flanks, a buff undertail, and bright pink legs. The Louisiana waterthrush also has a whiter throat with fewer streaks. More subtle clues include smaller size and smaller bill, a narrower and darker eye-line, and different call note and habits. [8]
Both waterthrush species walk rather than hop, and seem to teeter, since they bob their rear ends as they move along.[ citation needed ]
On the wintering grounds in Puerto Rico, northern waterthrushes leave daytime foraging areas and fly up to 2 km (1.2 mi) to nighttime roosts. The roosts are often located in red mangrove habitats. [9] Northern waterthrushes winter in 4 main habitats in Puerto Rico: white mangrove, red mangrove, black mangrove, and scrub. [3] Males, which are larger and migrate earlier in spring, prefer to winter in white mangrove, and are able to maintain or gain weight through the winter. Females winter in the other drier and less food-rich habitats. During the non-breeding period, northern waterthrushes are site-faithful and tend to be solitary. [3]
Waterthrushes wintering in red and black mangrove can maintain body weight through the winter but lose weight in scrub. Another determinant in body mass increase in the wintering grounds is moisture. [10]
Northern waterthrush territories are distributed across both upland and riparian habitats, but have limited occupation of harvested areas. Crowding into riparian buffer zones adjacent to harvested areas have more difficulty foraging compared to those in untouched areas. [11]
The breeding habitat of the northern waterthrush is wet woodlands near water, especially rivers and streams. It will occasionally nest in upland areas in the roots of fallen trees. [12] Northern waterthrushes build a cup nest constructed of leaves, bark strips, and rootlets in cavities or among tree roots. [13] It lays three to six eggs, cream- or buff-colored, with brown and gray spots.
The northern waterthrush is a terrestrial ground feeder, [3] eating insects, spiders, [14] [15] mollusks (such as snails), [14] [15] worms, [14] [15] and crustaceans found amongst leaf litter, as well as minnows, found by wading through water. [14] [15]
The song of loud, emphatic, clear chirping notes generally falling in pitch and accelerating; loosely paired or tripled, with little variation. Call a loud, hard spwik rising with a strong K sound. The flight call is a buzzy, high, slightly rising zzip. [8]
The first northern waterthrush recorded in Europe was a female trapped in Ushant, France on 17 September 1955. The species was first recorded in the United Kingdom on 30 September 1958, on St. Agnes, Isles of Scilly. It was caught in a mist-net, photographed, and released, after which it stayed until 12 October. [16] [17] There have been eight recorded sightings in the UK between 1958 and 2024. [18] [19] An exceptional record comes from Antofagasta, Chile. [20]
The orchard oriole is the smallest species of icterid. The subspecies of the Caribbean coast of Mexico, I. s. fuertesi, is sometimes considered a separate species, the ochre oriole or Fuertes's oriole.
The ruby-crowned kinglet is a very small passerine bird found throughout North America. It is a member of the kinglet family. The bird has olive-green plumage with two white wing bars and a white eye-ring. Males have a red crown patch, which is usually concealed. The sexes are identical, and juveniles are similar in plumage to adults. It is one of the smallest songbirds in North America. The ruby-crowned kinglet is not closely related to other kinglets and was moved from Regulus to its own genus, Corthylio, in 2021. Three subspecies are currently recognized.
The Blackburnian warbler is a small New World warbler. They breed in eastern North America, from southern Canada, westwards to the southern Canadian Prairies, the Great Lakes region and New England, to North Carolina.
The blackpoll warbler is a New World warbler. Breeding males are mostly black and white. They have a prominent black cap, white cheeks, and white wing bars. The blackpoll breeds in forests of northern North America, from Alaska throughout most of Canada, to the Adirondack Mountains of New York as well as New England in the Northeastern United States. They are a common migrant throughout much of North America. In fall, they fly south to the Greater Antilles and the northeastern coasts of South America in a non-stop long-distance migration over open water, averaging 2,500 km (1,600 mi), one of the longest-distance non-stop overwater flights ever recorded for a migratory songbird. Rare vagrants to western Europe, they are one of the more frequent transatlantic passerine wanderers.
The magnolia warbler is a member of the wood warbler family Parulidae.
The yellow warbler is a New World warbler species. Yellow warblers are the most widespread species in the diverse genus Setophaga, breeding in almost the whole of North America, the Caribbean, and down to northern South America.
The black-and-white warbler is a species of New World warbler, and the only member of its genus, Mniotilta. It breeds in northern and eastern North America and winters in Florida, Central America, and the West Indies down to Peru. This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
The Louisiana waterthrush is a New World warbler, that breeds in eastern North America and winters in the West Indies and Central America. Plain brown above, it is white below, with black streaks and with buff flanks and undertail, distinguishing it from the closely related northern waterthrush. The habitats it prefers are streams and their surroundings, and other wet areas.
Wilson's warbler is a small New World warbler. It is greenish above and yellow below, with rounded wings and a long, slim tail. The male has a black crown patch; depending on the subspecies, that mark is reduced or absent in the female. It breeds across Canada and south through the western United States, and winters from Mexico south through much of Central America. It is a very rare vagrant to western Europe.
The American redstart is a New World warbler. It is unrelated to the Old World (common) redstart.
The black-throated blue warbler is a small passerine bird of the New World warbler family. Its breeding ranges are located in the interior of deciduous and mixed coniferous forests in eastern North America. Over the cooler months, it migrates to islands in the Caribbean and Central America. It is very rarely found in western Europe, where it is considered to be a non-indigenous species. The black-throated blue warbler is sexually dimorphic; the adult male has a black face and cheeks, deep blue upperparts and white underparts, while the adult female is olive-brown above and light yellow below.
The cerulean warbler is a small songbird in the family Parulidae. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern North American hardwood forests. In the non-breeding season, it winters on the eastern slope of the Andes in South America, preferring subtropical forests.
The ovenbird is a small songbird of the New World warbler family (Parulidae). This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and winters in Central America, many Caribbean islands, Florida and northern Venezuela.
The mourning warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family. Mourning warblers are native to eastern and central North America as well as some countries in Central America. They are neotropical migrants and tend to be found in dense second growth forests. They are under the Wood-warbler category, which consists of arboreal and terrestrial colorful passerines. Wood warblers are in the order Passeriformes, which are perching birds including more than half of all bird species, and the family Parulidae which also includes the Common Yellowthroat, Black and White Warbler, Nashville Warbler, ovenbird, and American Redstart. They are very similar to the MacGillivray's Warbler in appearance, especially in females and immature birds, but their breeding range does not overlap into the west.
The Canada warbler is a small boreal songbird of the New World warbler family (Parulidae). It summers in Canada and northeastern United States and winters in northern South America.
The Nashville warbler is a small songbird in the New World warbler family, found in North and Central America. It breeds in parts of the northern and western United States and southern Canada, and migrates to winter in southern California and Texas, Mexico, and the north of Central America. It has a gray head and a green back, and its underparts are yellow and white.
The yellow-throated warbler is a small migratory songbird species in the New World warbler family (Parulidae) found in temperate North America.
The worm-eating warbler is a small New World warbler that breeds in the Eastern United States and migrates to southern Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America for the winter.
Townsend's warbler is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.
The waterthrushes are a genus of New World warbler, Parkesia.