Louisiana waterthrush
| Louisiana waterthrush | |
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| Louisiana waterthrush by Louis Agassiz Fuertes | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Parulidae |
| Genus: | Parkesia |
| Species: | P. motacilla |
| Binomial name | |
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Parkesia motacilla (Vieillot, 1809) |
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| Range of P. motacilla Breeding range
Wintering range |
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| Synonyms | |
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Seiurus motacilla |
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Wintering range
Seiurus motacilla
The Louisiana waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla) 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.
It breeds in eastern North America from southernmost Canada and south through the eastern United States, excluding Florida and the coast. The Louisiana waterthrush is migratory, wintering in Central America and the West Indies. This is a rare vagrant to the western United States. They are one of the earlier neotropical migrants to return to their breeding grounds in the spring, often completing their migration in late March or early April, which is almost two months before most other warblers reach their breeding grounds. They are also one of the earliest warblers to vacate their breeding grounds, with some departing as early as July; almost all will have left by late August.
The Louisiana waterthrush has a plain brown back and white underparts streaked with black. The flanks and undertail are buff. There is a strong white flared supercilium, and the legs are bright pink. All plumages are similar, but young birds have buff underparts rather than white. The main confusion species is the closely related northern waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis), which has white flanks and undertail, a striped throat, a slightly smaller bill, a shorter supercilium and duller pink legs.
In a study of the two waterthrushes in Connecticut nesting grounds, the Louisiana waterthrush, at an average of 20.6 g (0.73 oz), was rather larger than the Northern, at an average of 16.2 g (0.57 oz). The Louisiana waterthrush is one of the largest species of wood warbler, with only the aberrant yellow-breasted chat averaging larger in mean mass and linear measurements. It measures 14–17 cm (5.5–6.7 in) in length and spanning 21–25.4 cm (8.3–10.0 in) across the wings. The weight of adult birds can vary from 17.4 to 28 g (0.61 to 0.99 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 7.4 to 8.5 cm (2.9 to 3.3 in), the tail 4.4 to 5.4 cm (1.7 to 2.1 in), the bill is 1.2 to 1.5 cm (0.47 to 0.59 in) and the tarsus is 2 to 2.3 cm (0.79 to 0.91 in).
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