Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus)

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A Field Guide to Warblers of North America (The Peterson Field Guide Series). by Kimball L. Garrett, Jon L. Dunn, Cindy House (Illustrator)

Warblers of Eastern North America

Color Photograph: © Corel Corp.

Recording by John R. Sauer, U.S. Geological Survey

 

 

Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus)

Identification: 5 inches from tip of bill to tip of tail.

Breeding Male: The Ovenbird is a small and olive-brown. The back and side of the head are olive-brown and the crown of the head is rusty-orange bordered on both sides by black. The eye ring is white and prominent. The underside, including the throat, is white with conspicuous black streaks.

Female: Similar to the male.

Fall Male and Female: Similar to the male.

Immature: Similar to the male.

Similar Species: The Ovenbird might be mistaken for a Northern Waterthrush or a Louisiana Waterthrush. Both of these latter species, however, lack the rusty-orange crown of the head. The Ovenbird could also be confused with some of the brown thrushes such as the Veery or Wood Thrush. However the Ovenbird is about 5 inches in length while the thrushes are larger; between 6 and 7 inches in length.

Breeding Range (see map below): The Ovenbird has a wide breeding distribution in North America. It occurs through most of the Northern Boreal Forest except for the Yukon and Alaska. In the east its stretches from Nova Scotia and southern Quebec southward to northern Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. The species extends as far west as Montana and Wyoming in the north and eastern Oklahoma in the south.

Overwintering Range: American tropics, occasionally overwintering in Florida and along the Gulf Coast.

Habitat: The Ovenbird occurs in older, dry forests, open underneath.

Food: Insects.

Behavior: The birds are ground feeders, acting somewhat like the similar thrushes. The song is loud and consists of a staccato teacher, teacher, teacher.

Reproduction: The nest is a dome-shaped structure constructed of dead leaves and other plant fibers lined with grass. The nest is placed on the ground and opens from the side. The clutch consists of 3 to 6 white eggs speckled with brown. The incubation period is about 12 days and the young leave the nest about 10 days after hatching.

Notes: The Ovenbird gets it name from its nest considered by some to resemble a Dutch Oven. Males can be polygamous with more than one mate.