Northern Waterthrush
Parkesia noveboracensis
Unlike most warblers that hop, the Northern Waterthrush walks on the ground and constantly bobs its rear end up and down, a behavior known as 'teetering'.
- Scientific name
- Parkesia noveboracensis
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Parulidae › Parkesia
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- wetland
- Habitat
- Boreal forests, wooded swamps, bogs, and thickets lining the shores of slow-moving streams or lakes.
- Diet
- Mainly aquatic insects, larvae, small crustaceans, snails, and occasionally tiny fish or salamanders.
- Range
- North America, Central America, Northern South America, Caribbean
- Size
- Length: 12-15 cm; Wingspan: 21-24 cm; Weight: 13-25 g
- Lifespan
- Up to 9 years in the wild
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Degradation of wetland habitats, climate change impacting insect emergence, and collisions with man-made structures during migration.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and shy. Best observed with binoculars from a distance to avoid interrupting its foraging. If you find one dazed by a window strike, place it in a dark, ventilated box and contact a local wildlife rehabilitator immediately.
The northern waterthrush ( Parkesia noveboracensis ) is one of the larger New World warblers and one of the Nearctic-Neotropical migratory songbirds. It breeds in the northern part of North America in Canada and the northern United States including Alaska. This bird is migratory, wintering in Central America, the West Indies and Florida, as well as in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. It is a very rare vagrant to other South American countries and to western Europe.
Photo: no rights reserved, CC0, via iNaturalist
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