SVLVK'OLIDJ-: — TIIK WAUIlLKIiS. 28!) 



lulidii, hIio lUL'icly llir.s oil'; Imt liitor, or when sIr; lias yimii^', she tmiiUles 

 iiliouL on tlio grmiiul, Hprciuls lior winj^s and tiiil, utk-rs iiilooiis cries, iiiid 

 soeius ii.s if in tlio last u^'oiiit'S of lU'spair. Tliis species Mr. Audubon never 

 luct with fartlier east than (leor>j;ia, nor fartliev north than Henth'rson, Ky. 



Of late years, or since attention has heeii uiou! drawn to tiie s|iecilic 

 dii'ference between tliis species and tlie Water Thrusli, it has apjiarently 

 become more numerous, and has been obtained in etinsicUualile lunubers in 

 the vicinity of Washington. In tiiat neighborhood, once consiiUued so 

 rare, it was found l)y Dr. t'oues to be not at all uncommon at certain 

 seasons and in particular hjcalities. From tlie lOtli of April to tlie 20th 

 of ]\[ay it was always to be met with among the dense hiurel-bralces ihat 

 l)order the banks of and till the ravines leading into Hock Creek and I'iney 

 IJrandi. lie believes tiiey breed there, but they were not obscrveil in tlie 

 fall. Tliey were usually very .shy, darting at once into the most impene- 

 trable brakes, but were at other times easily approached. He always found 

 them in ])airs, even as early as the 20th of Ai)ril. Their call-note was i\ 

 sparrow-like chirp, as if made by striking two pel)bles together. They also 

 had a loud, beautiful, and melodious song, the singularity of which first drew 

 his attention to the bird. 



Mr. Itidgway infoiiiis me that in the Wabash Valley this bird, familiarly 

 known as the " Water Wagtail," is an abundant summer sojourner. It inhab- 

 its the dampest situations in the bottom-lands, the borders of creeks, lagoons, 

 and swami)s, living there in company with the Prothouijtary Warbler {Pro- 

 tonoUtria citirct). In its movements it is one of the quickest as well as the 

 most restless of the Sf//ri<v/iiln', tliough it is eminently terrestrial in its hab- 

 its. It is usually seen upon the wet ground, in a horizontal position, or even 

 the posterior part of its body more elevated, and its body continually tilting 

 up and down ; if it fancies itself unobserved, it runs slyly beneath the brush- 

 wood overhanging tlie sliore ; but if startled, it flics up suddenly Mith a sharji 

 and startling chatter. He adds that in early spring (from the latter part of 

 February to the l)eginning of April) its rich loud scmg may l)e heard before 

 the trees are in leaf, for it is one of tlie earliest of the Warblers to arrive. 

 When singing, it is usually perched upon the lower branches of a tree over- 

 hiinging the water, but lie has freipiently seen it among the topmost branches. 

 Wilson and Audubon have not exaggerated the merits of the song of this 

 bird, for among all its family there is certainly not one of our North Ameri- 

 can species that comjiares with it. In richness and volume of its very liquid 

 notes it is almost unrivalled, though the song itself may not be considered 

 otherwise remarkable. 



Mr. Salvin met this si)ecies in different portions of Guatemala in the months 

 of August, September, and November, 1859. A dry watercourse in the for- 

 est, or in the bottom of a; bari-anco, seemed to be its favorite resort, while 

 its near congener, the noirhomcensui, was observed to seek rather the more 

 open streams. 



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