304 MIGRATIONS OF THE WATER THRUSH 



South American records to date do not attest its presence on 

 the western side of South America. In the greater part of 

 North America, it is of general and common occurrence, and 

 the same is the case in the West Indies, Eastern Mexico, and 

 Cen'ral America. It is not so frequent, perhaps less regular 

 in its appearances, and, at any rate, not so commonly observed, 

 in the Middle and Western Provinces of North America, as it 

 is in the Eastern ; but we may remember that the observers are 

 there far fewer. This is a migratory species, of course ; for no 

 small insectivorous bird covers such an extent of country as I 

 have indicated at all seasons of the year. In this matter of its 

 movements we may note, first, that it is not accredited with any 

 extralimital record of breeding, so far as I can now recall ; but 

 I speak guardedly here, as the record is voluminous, and among 

 the many notices extant there may be some indicating that cer- 

 tain individuals do not perform the extensive migrations re- 

 quired for their presence within the bird's recognized breeding 

 range in North America. As to its nesting in the southern 

 portions of the United States, we must put out of court such 

 testimony as is vitiated by references to 8. ludovicianus ; and 

 this aside, there is no evidence that I know of to prove that 

 the bird nestles south of about the latitude of Washington, 

 D. 0. There I have myself found the Water Thrush through 

 the summer, under circumstances that leave no doubt of its 

 breeding. Almost directly north of such latitude, accounts of 

 its summer residence and nidification begin to multiply, and its 

 nesting thence to the Arctic regions is established. 



As will have been inferred already, the winter resorts of the 

 Water Thrush are for the most part beyond our limits ; yet the 

 fact that many individuals linger through the year in the South- 

 ern States is well attested. In Illinois, for example, where 

 S. motacilla breeds in abundance, the Water Thrush is only 

 known as a migrant and as a partial winter resident. Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Eidgway, they reappear from the north in August, 

 and many linger in the sheltered forests of the river-bottoms, 

 where he has heard them singing in December and January. 

 The period and duration of the vernal and autumnal movements 

 are not easily determined in the case of a bird that gets over so 

 much ground ; but the months of April and September appear 

 to be those when the migrations are at their height. 1 may 

 give some isolated data bearing on this subject. In Jamaica, 

 Mr. March found Water Thrushes from early in August to the 



