Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This secretive species of the Southeast can be hard to find even when its strong, clear voice rings out from close range. It has long been associated with giant cane and rhododendron thickets, but current research is finding that even more important than the exact type of understory plants is a thick understory with vine “tents” and tangles, and small shaded glades carpeted with leaf litter. I easily heard them in the Little River National Wildlife Refuge on my own. But I got my own photos and sound recording by going there with Mia Revels, a wonderful ornithologist who studies the species. She took field trip groups there during the Red Slough Birding Convention in Idabel, Oklahoma, played one recording after making sure our group was all situated to see where the bird would come out, and there he was! She took out field trips on three days, and took each group to a different individual to avoid pressuring a single bird too much.