Louisiana Waterthrush
Parkesia motacilla

Conservation status | Undoubtedly has declined with loss of habitat in its range. Surveys suggest that current populations are stable. |
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Family | Wood Warblers |
Habitat | Brooks, ravines, wooded swamps. In southern areas, nests in bottomlands, borders of lagoons and swamps, or near sluggish or fast-moving streams. In northern part of range (where it overlaps the range of Northern Waterthrush), favors rapid-flowing, gravel-bottomed streams flowing through hilly, deciduous forest. In winter in the tropics, near streams in lowland woods, occasionally in coastal mangroves. |
Photo Gallery
Feeding Behavior
Walks on ground while foraging, usually along edge or in water, over stones and moss. Turns over dead or wet leaves to find prey. Also flies out over streams to catch flying insects. Defends winter feeding territories against other waterthrushes.
Eggs
3-6, normally 5. Creamy white, with brown and purple-gray spots. Incubation by female only, 12-14 days. Frequently parasitized by cowbirds. Young: Both parents feed nestlings. Young leave the nest about 10 days after hatching. 1 brood per year.
Young
Both parents feed nestlings. Young leave the nest about 10 days after hatching. 1 brood per year.
Diet
Aquatic and terrestrial insects, crustaceans. Eats many insects including beetles, bugs, adult and larval mayflies, dragonflies, crane-fly larvae, ants, caterpillars, scale insects; also small crustaceans, snails, a few small fish and seeds. Tends to take larger items than Northern Waterthrush.
Nesting
Males defend long narrow territories along streams. Each male defends by chasing intruding males, and by singing; sometimes sings in flight, as well as from perches and the ground. Male sings persistently only up until eggs are laid, then sings infrequently. Nest site is concealed in roots of upturned tree, near water, under overhanging banks of streams, or in hollow of rocky ravine. Nest is an open cup, probably built by female, made of leaves, moss, twigs, bark; and lined with fine rootlets, ferns, grass stems, and hair.
Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
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Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
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Migration
Migrates mostly at night. Moves north very early in spring, arriving on nesting grounds in March and April; in fall, many have left nesting areas before the end of August.

- All Seasons - Common
- All Seasons - Uncommon
- Breeding - Common
- Breeding - Uncommon
- Winter - Common
- Winter - Uncommon
- Migration - Common
- Migration - Uncommon
See a fully interactive migration map for this species on the Bird Migration Explorer.
Learn moreSongs and Calls
Song is 3 clear notes followed by a descending jumble.Learn more about this sound collection.
How Climate Change Will Reshape the Range of the Louisiana Waterthrush
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Climate threats facing the Louisiana Waterthrush
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.