THE WATER THRUSH. 



229 



pare us for this so-called song, as above described; and yet 

 I fail to detect in it any other melody, or any other note, 

 except that sharp chip., chip., common to its genus. 



Having the dress of a Thrush, and the dainty, dove-like 

 gait as well as the jerking of the tail, so characteristic of 

 the Titlarks, while the structure is more allied to that of the 

 Warblers, this species and its congeners — the Louisiana 

 Water Thrush, and the Golden-crowned Thrush — have 

 greatly puzzled our ornithologists. After calling them 

 Thrushes for some time, and then Titlarks or Wagtails,' the 

 greater importance of structural affinity over and above mere 

 appearance or analogy has finally placed th?m among the 

 Warblers — "Terrestrial Warblers," Coues calls them. 



The Water Thrush is commonly quite shy, and manages 

 to keep well out of sight while one is moving around; but 

 if you will sit down and remain quiet, it will perambulate 

 about quite freely, and allow you a good view of its trim 

 form, some 5.50-6.00 inches long, and of a rich olivaceous- 

 brown coat and cap, and yellowish-white eye-brows and 

 under parts, the latter thickly spotted in streaks with brown. 



Being almost constantly on or near the ground, this so- 

 called Thrush is a ground-builder; and, true to its name, 

 keeps in the immediate vicinity of water, generally in the 

 partially submerged shrubbery of a swamp. Here the nest 

 may be .found at the root of a tree or stump, or stuck into 

 the side of a partially decayed and moss-covered log. It is 

 composed of sticks, dried grasses, moss and fine fibrous 

 material; and contains four eggs, about .85 x .67, delicate 

 v^hite, specked with light-red. It may be found in this 

 locality late in May or early in June. I have found the 

 young out of the nest by the 19th of June. Habitat, East- 

 ern North America, up to high latitudes, I found it breeding 

 in Nova Scotia. Its northwestward trend is to Montana, 



