Parkesia noveboracensis
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The northern waterthrush (Parkesia noveboracensis) is a species of ground-feeding migratory New World warbler of the genus Parkesia. It breeds in the northern part of North America, in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States; it winters in Florida, Central America, the West Indies, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. It is a rare vagrant to other South American countries and to western Europe. Its closest relative is the Louisiana waterthrush.
The northern waterthrush was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the wagtails in the genus Motacilla and coined the binomial name Motacilla noveboracensis. Gmelin based his account on descriptions of the species by earlier authors, none of whom had coined a binomial name. In 1778 the French polymath the Comte de Buffon had described "La fauvette tacheté de la Louisiane" in his book Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. A hand-coloured engraving by François-Nicolas Martinet was published separately to accompany Buffon's text. The species was later described under the name "New York warbler" by the English... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Medellín | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 4 | Bogota | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 6 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 10 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Louis Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Prospect Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Waterthrush sighting in Caracas on a given day, based on 950 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 61st most-seen of the 295 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October to February
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Northern Waterthrush in Caracas on a given day, against under 5% in May to August, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Northern Waterthrush sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 44 cities where we can rate Northern Waterthrush sightings, Caracas ranks 5th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Medellín (Colombia, about 10%), New York City (United States, about 10%) and Havana (Cuba, about 10%).
Same family: Parulidae
The closest relatives of the Northern Waterthrush that you can see in Caracas (family Parulidae, New World Warblers) are American Redstart (about 20%), Northern Yellow Warbler (about 20%) and Tropical Parula (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Northern Waterthrush is recorded against all the birds logged in Caracas (950 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
