440 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



diminuendo." Both Brewster and Chapman have agreed in considering 

 this song, short as it is, more melodious than that of the Louisiana water 

 thrush which has been so highly commended by many bird lovers. It 

 certainly is inspiring in the vivid suddenness with which it bursts from 

 the coverts of the swamp or streamside and fades away again into the 

 echoing forest. 



C. F. Stone thus describes its breeding habits: " In Potter swamp 

 this warbler is a common summer resident, and also in Urbana swamp, 

 where it finds ideal nesting situations in the wettest portions of the heavy- 

 timber. It is a most jubilant singer, rendering its song with animation in 

 a ringing, sweet, clear voice, the characteristic song of Potter swamp from 

 the last of April to about June 25. They have ftdl sets of eggs as early as 

 May 4, and nesting begins, some seasons, as late as June 10, the average 

 time, however, is from May 15 to June i. The nests are invariably snugly 

 hidden in thick beds of moss at the bases of trees or stumps or decayed 

 moss-covered logs, and rarely in the roots and dirt of upturned stumps, 

 anywhere from the level of the damp ground to 2 feet above the stagnant 

 pools of water. The mossy nest is formed from the bits of moss that are 

 pulled out when the cavity is made in the bed of moss, and the lining is 

 of the reddish moss stems. The eggs are 4 or 5, decidedly smaller than 

 those of the Louisiana water thrush, but a series of both these water thrushes 

 will exhibit such an intergradation that they are indistinguishable." 



Seiurus noveboracensis notabilis (Ridgway) 



Gr hi Hell Water Thrush 



Seiurus noevius notabilis Ridgway. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1880. 3:12 

 Seiurus noveboracensis notabilis A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 3. 19 10. 

 p. 320. No. 675a 



Description. Coloration practically identical with that of the Northern 

 water thrush, but perhaps a little darker and less olive on the upper parts, 

 and whiter below, but the size larger and the bill longer. 



Wing 3.1-3.25 inches; tail 2.20-2.50; bill .52. 



