Northern Waterthrush

BirdNote ^®

Northern Waterthrush—
The "Thrush" That Is a Warbler

Written by Dennis Paulson

This is BirdNote!
[Northern Waterthrush song]
This is the song of a Northern Waterthrush. Despite its name, it’s really not a thrush: it’s a warbler. [Northern Waterthrush song]
But unlike most warblers, waterthrushes feed on the ground. They walk along with rear ends bouncing, hunting for insects at the water’s edge. Their brown plumage helps camouflage them from predators. It’s easy to see that where a bird lives has a lot to do with what it looks like.
You’ll find migrating waterthrushes at all sorts of wetlands, where you can locate them by their loud chip-notes. [Northern Waterthrush call] They winter in the tropics, where they frequent the edges of ponds and mangrove swamps.
But thrushy as it may look, a waterthrush can’t compare to this Hermit Thrush when it comes to a beautiful song. [Hermit Thrush song]
Get a good look at a Northern Waterthrush—and learn which thrushes you might find near you—when you come to our web site, BirdNote.org.
We’d like to thank the individuals who underwrite BirdNote. You provide more than philanthropy – you present an inspiring profile of human nature. For BirdNote, I’m Frank Corrado. [Northern Waterthrush song]
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Bird audio provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Northern Waterthrush song recorded by A.A. Allen. Northern Waterthrush call recorded by R.S. Little. Hermit Thrush song recorded by T.G. Sander.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2009 Tune In to Nature.org            Revised for May 2009

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