214 SINGING BIRDS. 



and solitary wilds he inhabits. The silence of night is also, at 

 times, relieved by the incessant warble of this Western Philo- 

 mel, whose voice, breaking upon the ear of the lonely traveller 

 in the wilderness, seems like the dulcet lay of something super- 

 natural. His song is also heard in the winter when the 

 weather proves mild. In this habit he appears considerably 

 allied to the Reed Thrush or River Nightingale of Europe, 

 which night and day almost ceaselessly sings, and soothes his 

 sitting mate, among the reeds and marshes of his favorite 

 resorts. 



Since Nuttall's day the Water Thrush has been separated from 

 the true Thrushes and classed with the Warblers. The birds seen 

 by Wilson and Audubon in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi 

 were doubtless referable to motacilla, for though the present spe- 

 cies is found throughout this Eastern Province, west to Illinois and 

 Manitoba, it seldom has been discovered breeding south of 45°. It 

 is a rather common spring and autumn visitor to Massachusetts, 

 and may breed in small numbers on the Berkshire hills. 



On the plains the type is replaced by the variety named nofabilis, 

 — Grinnell's Water-Thrush, — which is larger and darker. 

 Notabilis occurs occasionally in Illinois and Indiana. 



LOUISIANA WATER THRUSH. 

 Seiurus motacilla. 



Char. Similar to naveboracensis, but larger, and bill longer and stouter. 

 Under parts tinged with buff, but never with bright yellow ; throat free 

 from spots. Length 55^ to 5^ inches. 



Nest. On the ground, hidden amid roots of fallen tree, or on a mossy 

 bank ; composed of leaves, grass, and moss, lined with grass and hair. 



Eggs. 4-6 ; white, sometimes with creamy tint, speckled with brown 

 and lilac ; 0.75 X 0.60. 



The range of this species extends from southern New England, 

 the Great Lakes, and Minnesota (in summer) to the Gulf States 

 and Central America (in winter). A few pairs are seen every sea- 

 son in southern Ontario. Its habits do not differ from those of its 

 congener. 



