THE WATER THRUSH. 



C. C. MARBLE. 



I never see a skylark fly 



Straight upward, singing, to the-sky, 



Or hear the bobolink's glad note 



Issue with frenzy from his throat. 



As though his very heart would break 



In bars of music, but straight 



I think, brave, happy bridegrooms they, 



And this must be their wedding-day. 



C. C. M. 



THE water thrush {Seiurus nove- 

 boracensis) has so many popular 

 names that it will be recognized 

 by most observers by one or 

 more of them. It is called small-billed 

 water-thrush, water wagtail, water kick- 

 up, Besoy kick-up, and river pink 

 {Jamaica), aquatic accentor, and New 

 York aquatic thrush. It is found 

 chiefly east of the Mississippi River, 

 north to the Arctic coast, breeding 

 from the north border of the United 

 States northward. It winters in more 

 southern United States, all of middle 

 America, northern South America, and 

 all of West Indies. It is accidental in 

 Greenland. In Illinois this species is 

 known as a migrant, passing slowly 

 through in spring and fall, though in 

 the extreme southern portion a few 

 pass the winter, especially if the season 

 be mild. It frequents swampy woods 

 and open, wet places, nesting on the 

 ground or in the roots of overturned 

 trees at the borders of swamps. Mr. 

 M. K. Barnum of Syracuse, New York, 



found a nest of this species in the roots 

 of a tree at the edge of a swamp on 

 the 30th of May. It was well con- 

 cealed by the overhanging roots, and 

 the cavity was nearly filled with moss, 

 leaves, and fine rootlets. The nest at 

 this date contained three young and 

 one ^g%- Two sets were taken, one 

 near Listowel, Ontario, from a nest un- 

 der a stump in a swamp, on June 7, 

 1888; the other from New Canada, 

 Nova Scotia, July 30, 1886. The nest 

 was built in moss on the side of a 

 fallen tree. The eggs are creamy- 

 white, speckled and spotted, most 

 heavily at the larger ends, with hazel 

 and lilac and cinnamon-rufous. 



As a singer this little wagtail is not 

 easily matched, though as it is shy and 

 careful to keep as far from danger as 

 possible, the opportunity to hear it 

 sing is not often afforded one. Though 

 it makes its home near the water, it is 

 sometimes seen at a considerable dis- 

 tance from it among the evergreen 

 trees. 



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