Ovenbird

Seiurus aurocapilla

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family PARULIDAE

Menu

1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A small, inconspicuous bird of the forest floor, the Ovenbird is one of the most characteristic birds of the eastern forests. Its loud song, "teacher, teacher, teacher," rings through the summer forest, but the bird itself is hard to see.

Cool Facts

• On its breeding ground, the Ovenbird divides up the forest environment with the other warblers of the forest floor. The Ovenbird uses the uplands and moderately sloped areas, the Worm-eating Warbler uses the steep slopes, and the Louisiana Waterthrush and the Kentucky Warbler use the low-lying areas.

• The Ovenbird gets its name from its covered nest. The dome and side entrance make it resemble a Dutch oven.

• It's a tough life being a small migratory bird. Studies estimate that half of all adult Ovenbirds die each year. The oldest known Ovenbird was seven years old.

• Neighboring male Ovenbirds sing together. One male starts singing, and the second will join in immediately after. They pause, and then sing one after the other again, for up to 40 songs. The second joins in so quickly that they may sound from a distance as if only one bird is singing. Ovenbirds rarely overlap the song of their neighbors.

Description

• Size: 11-14 cm (4-6 in)
• Wingspan: 19-26 cm (7-10 in)
• Weight: 16-28 g (0.56-0.99 ounces)

• Small songbird.
• Olive brown back.
• White underside with bold, dark streaked spots.
• White eyering.
• Orange crown bordered by black stripes.

• Throat white, broken by black malar streaks.
• Legs pinkish.
• Flanks light buffy.
• Undertail white.

Sex Differences

Sexes alike.

Immature

Immature like adult, but less brightly colored.

Similar Species

• Northern and Louisiana waterthrushes similar, but have broad whitish eyestripes, are less round in shape, more dark brown on the back, lack the orange and black crown, and constantly bob their tails.
• Thrushes have round spots, not streaks on their chests and lack the orange and black crown.

Sound

A loud, ringing "cher, teacher, teacher, teacher."

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from southeastern Yukon eastward to Newfoundland, southward to Wyoming, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Georgia.

Winter Range

Winters in Florida, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America.

Habitat

• Breeds in mature deciduous and mixed deciduous and coniferous forests.
• Winters in primary and second growth forests.

Food

Forest insects.

Behavior

Foraging

Picks insects off leaf litter on the forest floor.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Nest a woven domed cup of dead leaves and plant stems, with the entrance on the side. Placed on ground. Lined with hair.

Egg Description

White with dark speckles in a wreath around the large end.

Clutch Size

3-6 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with sparse brown down.

Conservation Status

Maturation of forests in Northeast may be causing slight increases in the Ovenbird population. May be declining at edge of range.

Other Names

Paruline couronnée (French)
Pizpita dorada, Señorita del monte, Verdín suelero (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Van Horn, M. A. and T. M. Donovan. 1994. Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus). In The Birds of North America, No. 88 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.