WATER THRUSH. 243 
this bird is in particular localities a not uncommon summer resident. Its haunts and 
their surroundings are seldom touched by human feet, and only the enthusiastic plant 
and bird. lover finds any satisfaction in penetrating, often under great difficulties, the 
masses of underwood and the dense tamarack and white cedar swamps. Yet it is with 
pleasure to recall to my mind the excursions of long past years through these swampy 
wildernesses. Will the reader’s mind follow me through one of them? We need not 
search long, for these tamarack and cedar swamps exist in large numbers in northern 
and central Wisconsin. They are generally thickly overgrown with andromedas, dogwood, 
huckleberry, goose-berry, white cedar, and many other shrubs. Wintergreen, droseras, 
pitcher-plants, terrestrial orchids, ferns, lobelias, and many other herbaceous plants, 
annuals and perennials, cover the ground in dense masses. A glance at many of these 
peculiarly beautiful treasures of Flora’s temple fully repays one for all the exertion, yet 
the plants here named are only a tithe of those really found in such places. There 
wealso find charming feathered inhabitants. The Black-throated Blue Warbler darts 
hastily through the low bushes, while the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher flits through the 
aromatic and balmy air in quest of inseéts. The Hermit Thrush sings its most enchant- 
ing anthems in this solitude. One of the most excellent songsters of these swampy 
localities is the WATER THRUSH, a bird resembling the Ovenbird in size and appearance. 
—Behold! there it walks over the ground, fan-like twitching and wagging its tail, 
suddenly disappearing under the dense huckleberry bushes. Anon it reappears. You 
notice that its name is well chosen, for it struts to and fro in the water, takes wing, 
alights on the nearest tree and begins its truly exquisite song. Its presence is, however, 
not confined to the swamps; I have found it frequently on the borders of brooks, 
ponds, and small inland lakes. . 
In central and northern Wisconsin the Water Thrushes make their appearance 
early in May, the majority passing farther to the North, only a few remaining to breed. 
During the migration they too, are, as a rule, found near water. They spend the 
“ winter in southern Mexico and in Central America. Some even migrate as far south 
as Colombia. The West Indies, the Bahamas, and the Gulf region are also the winter 
home of many of them. According to Mr. Robert Ridgway, a few pass the winter in 
the extreme southern portion of Illinois, especially if the season be mild. 
Although the Water Thrush breeds as far south as latitude 43°, it is most 
abundant in the Arctic regions. Sir John Richardson met with it at Carlton House, 
where it was found on moist and thickly wooded banks of the river. The late Mr. 
Kennicott informs us that it breeds on the Yukon River. 
The nest is usually built in the roots of upturned trees, mostly in shady swamps 
or near the banks of creeks, lakes, and rivers, where it is often concealed by the over- 
hanging small rootlets. Now and then we may also find a nest on the ground. The 
structure is composed of moss, fine grass, leaves, and rootlets. The eggs, four to five 
in number, are creamy-white, speckled and spotted with cinnamon-brown and lilac, 
most heavily at the larger end. 
This life history would be incomplete if I should neglect to quote Dr. Elliott 
Coues’ charming and poetical description of the Water Thrush. This celebrated naturalist 
writes as follows: . 
