Having a sweet, clear and musical song, this uncommon bird seeks standing water undergrowth in wood swamps where bald cypress, cottonwood, tupelo, weeping willow, etc. are found. The migrants of spring will be within dense brush adjacent to water. These are one of the early birds in spring to arrive, and they look for bubbling springs in the remotest of habitat to perch to sing their lovely, lilting song.
This thrush-like new world warbler breeds in the eastern part of Oklahoma, enjoying many wet areas. It it has a plain brown back with a white belly and a streaked breast with buff flanks. The bright white eyebrow will separate this bird from the almost identical Northern Waterthrush, which also is seen in the area in summer. It bobs while it walks, like the Spotted Sandpiper.
https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2018/08/oklahoma-breeding-bird-species-profile_15.html
Louisiana Waterthrush
High Island Texas, 2015
When establishing territory, the male will sing nonstop, but when he finds a mate, his singing is then restricted to the morning. Breeding habitat is near running water and dense vegetation to build a nest in a mud bank, in a rock crevice or within roots of trees. This behavior is very similar to the American Dipper. https://debhirt.blogspot.com/2018/07/species-profile-american-dipper.html
The warbler forages in leaf litter seeking ground insects, or salamander and small fish if the insects are rare. They also depend upon flies, aquatic insects, and mollusks.
They are a declining species due to loss of habitat, channelization of rivers, impounding streams to create reservoirs, and pollution. It is also threatened by logging, excessive irrigation, urbanization, and gas drilling.
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