Louisiana Waterthrush? Miami, Florida. 9/18/2021. (1 Viewer)

[lgonz1008]

Saw 3 waterthrushes during an early morning walk in Matheson Hammock Park, Miami. The birds were briefly vocalizing, so it was IDed as 1 LOWA and 2 NOWA, however, when I posted the photos on eBird, I was suggested that this bird might be a NOWA, but it has field marks that make me think LOWA and would like a second opinion.

The field marks that led me to think LOWA:

• Wide brow at the brow/supercilium at the base of the neck area
• White instead of streaked throat
• Less streaking on the belly compared to the other waterthrush that was photographed

Would love to get someone's opinion to confirm which species it could be and update my eBird checklist accordingly.

 

[stuartelsom]

It appears to have a small bill, and the supercilium is the same colour as the underparts, and does not broaden to the rear, for me that makes it a NOWA.

Stu

 

[KenM]

Looks Northern to me, supercillium and underparts are creamy as opposed to being white.

Cheers

 

[qwerty5]

The yellowish underparts and eyebrow make me think Northern Waterthrush as well.

 

[jmepler]

LOWA will never be that yellowish. Definitely NOWA.

 

[lgonz1008]

Thank you everyone for the info, will keep in my notes for future reference and update my checklist.

 

[Butty]

All the ID features mentioned above, except supercilium colour, are ones that - I consider - would be ones that are unwise to use in a photo of this quality (e.g. I'd say that, if anything, the supercilium does appear to broaden at the rear - but it's difficult to be sure from this photo so it's best just ignored; and throat-streaking tends to be so fine that it may well just not show up in a photo such as this even if present). But the supercilium (and underparts) colour seems so clearly not white that I'd call this a northern waterthrush.