waterthrush

noun

wa·​ter·​thrush ˈwȯ-tər-ˌthrəsh 

ˈwä-

plural waterthrushes

: either of two North American warblers (Parkesia noveboracensis and P. motacilla of the family Parulidae) that have brown backs and white underparts with dark streaks and that are found near fresh water (such as streams or bogs)

Waterthrushes are colored to match their environment, which is wet bogs, dark swamps and other such areas. … But my favorite way to identify waterthrushes is how they walk. They can hardly take a single step without moving their entire backend up and down.

—Bird Watcher's General Store

Note: Though not members of the thrush family, waterthrushes get their name from their close resemblance to some common North American thrushes, such as the wood thrush.

Examples of waterthrush in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Songbirds that should be migrating south soon include the Northern waterthrush and yellow warbler. —BostonGlobe.com, 22 July 2019

There was also a buff-breasted sandpiper, a cliff swallow, a blue-gray gnatcatcher, and a Northern waterthrush. —BostonGlobe.com, 2 Sep. 2019

Louisiana waterthrushes have arrived in some breeding areas already. —Taylor Piephoff, charlotteobserver, 29 Mar. 2018

Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined above