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Posted by Rock Jetty on 10:22:15 08/10/06
In Reply to: Re: Waterthrush? posted by Georgiana
Georgiana,
did you see the throat on the waterthrush? The field mark that you mentioned is geographically variable, but the throat is the giveaway. Louisiana's is white (unstreaked), except for the "whisker", while Northern's is streaked almost all the way to the base of the lower mandible. Once you get familiar with these two birds (it's really cool when you see them side-by-side) you'll notice other features to go along with this: Northern has a buffy supercilium while Louisiana's is white and broader, Northern's streaking is heavier (fills more space), Louisiana's bill is heavier, the calls are slightly different. For now, focus on the throat.
As far as the Wood Thrush goes, it helps to say what part of the year you saw them. I get Wood Thrush almost every year at A.D. Barnes during late fall. A couple of years ago we thought one was going to overwinter, hanging out with the Hermit Thrushes, but then it left. True, it's not a common bird, but it'll show up somewhere around October. Brown Thrashers are often mistaken for Wood Thrushes but I'm not saying that's what you saw. More than one Wood Thrush in a location is a pretty darn good find. Keep an eye out this fall.
Cheers,
RJ
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