Acadia National Park

Description  ADULT AND IMMATURE Have mostly dark olive-brown upperparts, including wings and tail. Note the long, bold supercilium that becomes wider above and behind the eye and is more buff in front of eye, white behind (even width and uniformly buffish in Northern). Underparts are whitish overall, with a buff wash on rear of flanks and bold dark streaks on all areas except throat and undertail coverts (throat is streaked in Northern). Legs are stout and bright pink.

Dimensions  Length: 6 1/2" (17 cm)

Habitat  Common summer visitor (mainly Apr-Aug) to wet wooded habitats in southeastern U.S.; winters mainly in Central America and around Caribbean.

Observation Tips  Presence easiest to detect by song.

Range  Plains, Texas, Eastern Canada, Southeast, Great Lakes, New England, Mid-Atlantic, Florida

Voice  Song is a resonant, whistling ti' tsiu tsiu tchew tchew; call is a grating tchtt.

Discussion  Similar to Northern Waterthrush, but marginally larger and longer billed. and subtle plumage differences (mainly supercilium and throat) are best features for separating the species on migration; breeding ranges barely overlap in region covered by this book. Habits and habitat preferences are similar to those of Northern. Sexes are similar.

Migration Info  This species is found in similar habitat at all times of the year, usually in the vicinity of fast-flowing mountain streams within woodlands. In winter, it will also occupy upland freshwater habitats, including lakes, and during migration may be found in wet thickets in areas where moving water is not available. This is an extremely early migrant, sometimes appearing along the U.S. Gulf coast in significant numbers before the end of February. Because of its dependence upon aquatic insects, this species is extremely susceptible to the effects of siltation and water pollution.