Species: Parkesia noveboracensis

Northern Waterthrush

Species

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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

Dark brown above, whitish to pale yellowish below and supercilium. Dark streaking on breast. Best distinguished from very similar Louisiana Waterthrush by thinner, more yellowish supercilium and typically spotted throat, drabber leg color. Habitat should be considered when identifying waterthrushes. Song is best indicator of species.

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Parulidae

Genus

Parkesia

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102665

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Chipe Charquero - Mariquita-Boreal - paruline des ruisseaux

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Parulidae - Parkesia - by AOU (2010).

Ecology and Life History

Short General Description

A small bird (warbler).

Migration

false - false - true - Present in South America mainly September-April (Ridgely and Tudor 1989). Arrives in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in September, present through April (Raffaele 1983). Arrives in Costa Rica mid- to late-August, departs by mid-May; often abundant in September (Stiles and Skutch 1989).

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

false

Food Comments

On breeding grounds, eats various small invertebrates, primarily from muddy ground but also wades in shallow pools, gleans from foliage or soggy fallen leaves, and occasionally catches flying insects (Terres 1980, Lack 1976, Rappole and Warner 1980, Craig 1984). Takes larval and adult insects, spiders and snails. In the north, where associated with moving water, probably feeds on stoneflies (Plecoptera). After leaf emergence in spring, feeds extensively on Lepidoptera larvae (Eaton 1957, Craig 1987, Eaton 1995) In S. Carolina, known to have taken small minnows (Wayne 1910). <br><br>On non-breeding grounds, forages in mangroves, perching on fallen trees or pneumatophores, picking prey from substrates or near water surface, up to 3 m from ground but usually below 1 m (Lefebvre et al. 1992). Diet includes beetles, ants (Hymenoptera), flies, insect larvae, snails and decapod crustaceans found at water surface, on the ground, on fallen trees, or occasionally in low foliage. Typically forages alone, but sometimes in small groups probably only during migration when birds are immediately concerned with feeding (Schwartz 1964). In Cuba, small snails, small clams (Pelecypodia), snout beetles (Rhynchophora), small spiders and ants (Eaton 1995). Feeds on a greater variety of prey during migration.

Reproduction Comments

Essentially monogamous. Pair bond maintained from shortly after male arrives to 3-4 days after successful fledging. Favors nest sites in cavities of root systems of wind-blown trees in wooded swamps, or on sides of fern clumps or under cover on the banks of lakes or rivers. Nest typically hidden from above (Eaton 1995, Baicich and Harrison 1997). Nest a bowl of moss and liverwort gametophytes with a few leaves on the outside, lined with grass stems, twigs or pine needles, moss sporophytes or small rootlets and hair. May have an entranceway of leaves (Eaton 1995, Baicich and Harrison 1997). <br><br>Clutch size four to five eggs, sometimes three to six. Distinctly smaller than cowbird eggs. Female incubates and will lure potential predators away from nest. (Eaton 1995). Eggs are laid in late May-June. Young are altricial, brooded by female until day five. Both parents feed young. Departure from nest at day nine. Young unable to fly and hide for 2-3 days under dense vegetation (Baicich and Harrison 1997). Parents split brood for feeding. One brood per season (Eaton 1995).

Ecology Comments

Territorial throughout the year. Thought to defend non-breeding foraging areas against intraspecific intrusion, occasionally violently. Mean territory size on breeding grounds from 0.5-1.0 ha by location and is similar on wintering grounds (Eaton 1995, Curson et al. 1994). Some indication that individuals may show changing preferences for habitat throughout non-breeding season despite other studies showing strong winter territoriality. Lefebvre et al. (1994) considered this species to be non-territorial in winter in northeastern Venezuela mangroves. Arrivals in Venezuela near end of rainy season occupy higher slopes, descending to humid lowlands in the dry season (Schwartz 1964). In northern Colombia, inhabits thornscrub in October but disappears in November as leaves wilt; unrecorded there in spring (Russell 1980). In addition, birds occupying coastal mangroves in Panama may migrate between habitat types mid-winter in response to prey availability. Abundance of Panamanian birds followed patterns of arthropod abundance and increased rainfall; species was more abundant in Pacific mangrove forests during the first part of the wintering period and more abundant in the Caribbean mangroves during the second part of the wintering season when rainfall and arthropod prey items increase there (Lefebvre and Poulin 1996).

Length

Weight

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1996-12-03

Global Status Last Changed

1996-12-03

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

BREEDING: western and north-central Alaska and northwestern Mackenzie to Labrador and Newfoundland, south to southeastern British Columbia, Washington, Idaho, North Dakota, Great Lakes, eastern West Virginia, northwestern Virginia, and Massachusetts (Eaton 1995, AOU 1998). NON-BREEDING: southern Baja California, southern Sinaloa, San Luis Potosi, northern Veracruz, and southern Florida south through Mexico (including Yucatan peninsula), throughout Central America to Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, northern Brazil, northeastern Peru, and Surinam; also abundant throughout the West Indies (Raffaele 1983, Pashley 1988a, Pashley 1988b, Pashley and Hamilton 1990, Eaton 1995).

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102665