Ovenbird

The ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Seiurus. This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and winters in Central America, many Caribbean islands, Florida and northern Venezuela.

Taxonomy

The ovenbird was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla aurocapilla.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=paynter>Template:Cite book</ref> The specific epithet combines Latin aurum meaning "gold" with -capillus meaning "-crowned".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Linnaeus based his entry on "The golden-crowned thrush" that had been described and illustrated in 1758 by the English naturalist George Edwards in his book Gleanings of Natural History. Edwards had been given a specimen that had been collected on a ship off the coast of Hispanola.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The ovenbird is now the only species placed in the genus Seiurus that was introduced by English zoologist William Swainson in 1827.<ref name=ioc>Template:Cite web</ref> Swainson did not specify the type species until a later publication in the same year.<ref name=paynter/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The genus name is from Ancient Greek σειουρος/seiouros meaning "wag-tail".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Three subspecies are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>

• S. a. aurocapilla (Linnaeus, 1766) – breeds in central, southeast Canada and east USA, winters in north South America
• S. a. cinereus Miller, AH, 1942 – breeds in central west USA, winters in Middle America
• S. a. furvior Batchelder, 1918 – breeds in Newfoundland (southeast Canada), winters in West Indies and east Middle America

The ovenbird it is genetically distinct and occupies a basal in the family Parulidae.<ref name=Lovette/> Before the genetic studies, the waterthrushes were also included in Seiurus<ref name="Curson et al. 1994"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but are now placed in a separate genus Parkesia as they are not closely related to the ovenbird.<ref name=Lovette/>

Adult with raised "crest", Léon-Provancher Ecological Reserve, Quebec, Canada

Description

Ovenbirds are large wood warblers and may sometimes be confused by the untrained for a thrush. Adults measure Template:Convert long and span Template:Convert across the wings.<ref name= Cornell>Ovenbird, Life History, All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref><ref>Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute-Seiurus aurocapilla Template:Webarchive. Biogeodb.stri.si.edu. Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref><ref>Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) Template:Webarchive. Planet of Birds (2011-06-08). Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref> They weigh Template:Convert on average,<ref>Seiurus aurocapilla (Ovenbird) Template:Webarchive. Global Species. Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref> with a range of Template:Convert.<ref name= Cornell/> Among standard measurements, the wing chord is Template:Convert, the tail is Template:Convert, the bill is Template:Convert and the tarsus is Template:Convert.<ref name="Curson et al. 1994"/> They tend to be heavier in winter and particularly at the start of their migration.<ref name=Olson/> They have olive-brown upperparts and white underparts heavily streaked with black; the flanks have an olive hue. A white ring surrounds the eyes, and a black stripe runs below the cheek. They have a line of orange feathers with olive-green tips running along the top of their head, bordered on each side with blackish-brown. The orange feathers can be erected to form a small crest. The eyes and the upper part of the thin pointed beak are dark, while the lower beak is horn-colored and the legs and feet are pinkish.<ref name=Stiles/>

Males and females look alike. Immature birds have tawny fringes to the tertiary remiges and sometimes buff-tipped outer primary wing coverts. Most conspicuously, the olive-green tips of the crown feathers, which are hardly visible in adult birds, are far larger in extent in immatures and cover the orange crown-stripe almost or completely.<ref name=Stiles/>

The main song of the ovenbird is a series of strident, relatively low-pitched, bisyallabic motives repeated without pause about eight times and increasing in volume. Usually, the second syllable in each motive is sharply accented: "chur-tee' chur-tee' chur-tee' chur-tee' chur-TEE chur-TEE chur-TEE!" Male ovenbirds utter a sweet chattering song in the air at twilight, after the manner of the skylark,<ref>Template:Cite NIE</ref> incorporating portions of the main song into a jumble of sputtering notes and mimicry as they dive back to earth. The call Template:Webarchive is a variably pitched, sharp "chik!" Some variations recall the common call note of a downy woodpecker. If the bird is excited, it may repeat this call several times.<ref name=Stiles/> The fight call is a high, rising siiii.

Distribution and habitat

Their breeding habitats are mature deciduous and mixed forests, especially sites with little undergrowth, across Canada and the eastern United States. For foraging, it prefers woodland with abundant undergrowth of shrubs; essentially, it thrives best in a mix of primary and secondary forest. Ovenbirds migrate to the southeastern United States, the Caribbean, and from Mexico to northern South America. The birds are territorial all year round, occurring either singly or (in the breeding season) as mated pairs, for a short time accompanied by their young. During migration, they tend to travel in larger groups however, dispersing again once they reach their destination.<ref name=Stiles/>

In winter, they dwell mainly in lowlands, but may ascend up to Template:Convert ASL e.g. in Costa Rica. The first migrants leave in late August and appear on the wintering grounds as early as September, with successive waves arriving until late October or so. They depart again to breed between late March and early May, arriving on the breeding grounds throughout April and May. Migration times do not seem to have changed much over the course of the 20th century.<ref name=Stiles/><ref name=Henninger/><ref name=OOS/>

This bird is an infrequent vagrant of Europe, with five individuals reported this century on the Azores<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and a handful of records in Norway,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Ireland,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and Great Britain.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A live ovenbird on St Mary's, Isles of Scilly in October 2004 was in bad condition, and died despite being taken into care.<ref>Rogers, M. J. et al. (2005). Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2004 Template:Webarchive. British Birds 98: 628–694 [Ovenbird, p. 688].</ref> Ovenbirds are also regular vagrants in California.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Behaviour and ecology

Food and feeding

Ovenbirds forage on the ground in dead leaves, sometimes hovering or catching insects in flight. This bird frequently tilts its tail up and bobs its head while walking; at rest, the tail may be flicked up and slowly lowered again, and alarmed birds flick the tail frequently from a half-raised position. These birds mainly eat terrestrial arthropods and snails, and also include fruit<ref name=Foster/> in their diet during winter.<ref name=Stiles/>

Breeding

The nest, referred to as the "oven" (which gives the bird its name), is a domed structure placed on the ground, woven from vegetation, and containing a side entrance. The female usually lays 4–5 eggs speckled with brown or gray. Only the female incubates, for 11–14 days. Young are altricial and are fed by both parents. First flight is at 8–11 days of age.

The placement of the nest on the ground makes predation by snakes, red squirrels, and chipmunks (Tamias) a greater concern than for tree-nesting birds. Chipmunks have been known to burrow directly into the nest to eat the young birds.<ref name="Curson et al. 1994"/> The female can perform a distraction display, simulating an injured bird, when a potential predator is in the vicinity of the nest.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The ovenbird is vulnerable to nest parasitism by the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), which is becoming more plentiful in some areas. However, the ovenbirds' numbers appear to be remaining stable. Altogether, it is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.<ref name=iucnredlist /><ref name="Curson et al. 1994"/>

In literature

It is the subject of a poem by Robert Frost, "The Oven Bird", published in his poetry collection Mountain Interval in 1916.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Robert Bly also makes reference to "the nimble oven bird" in his short poem "The Slim Fir Seeds".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Gallery

• 
  Video of male calling
• 
  Nest with chicks
• 
  Six-day-old chicks

External links

• Ovenbird Species Account – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Ovenbird – Seiurus aurocapillus Template:Webarchive – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
• Template:InternetBirdCollection
• Template:VIREO
• Ovenbird infoTemplate:Wikisource-inline