View source for Ovenbird

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Holocene|present}}
| image = Ovenbird (90497).jpg
| image2 = Seiurus aurocapilla - Ovenbird - XC77882.ogg
| image2_caption = Song recorded in [[Minnesota]]
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucnredlist>{{cite iucn|author=BirdLife International|year=2021|title=''Seiurus aurocapilla''|article-number=e.T22721779A139133223|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T22721779A139133223.en|access-date=21 February 2024}}</ref>
| genus = Seiurus
| parent_authority = [[William Swainson|Swainson]], 1827
| species = aurocapilla
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766)
| synonyms = * ''Motacilla aurocapilla'' <small>Linnaeus,&nbsp;1766</small>
* ''Seiurus aurocapillus''
| range_map = Seiurus aurocapilla map.svg
| range_map_caption = Range of ''S. aurocapilla'' {{leftlegend|#FFFF00|Breeding range|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#0000FF|Wintering range|outline=gray}}
}}

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

==Taxonomy==
The ovenbird was [[Species description|formally described]] in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|twelfth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Motacilla aurocapilla''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1766 | title=Systema naturae: per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=12th | volume=1, Part 1 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii  | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | page=334 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946530 }}</ref><ref name=paynter>{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1968 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=14 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=34 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14481235 }}</ref> The specific epithet combines [[Latin]] ''aurum'' meaning "gold" with ''-capillus'' meaning "-crowned".<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=aurocapilla | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=aurocapilla | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=11 September 2025 }}</ref> Linnaeus based his entry on "The golden-crowned thrush" that had been described and illustrated in 1758 by the English naturalist [[George Edwards (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>{{ cite book | last=Edwards | first=George | author-link=George Edwards (naturalist) | year=1758 | title=Gleanings of Natural History, exhibiting figures of quadrupeds, birds, insects, plants &c... | language=English, French | volume=1 | location=London | publisher=Printed for the author, at the College of Physicians | page=91, plate 252 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/56896027 }}</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>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=February 2025 | title=New World warblers, mitrospingid tanagers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 15.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/warblers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=11 September 2025 }}</ref> Swainson did not specify the [[type species]] until a later publication in the same year.<ref name=paynter/><ref>{{ cite journal | last=Swainson | first=William | author-link=William Swainson | year=1827 | title=A synopsis of the birds discovered in Mexico by W. Bullock, F.L.S. and Mr. William Bullock jun. | journal=Philosophical Magazine | series=New Series | volume=1 | pages=364–369, 433–442 [369] | doi=10.1080/14786442708674330 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15530379 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite journal | last=Swainson | first=William | author-link=William Swainson | year=1827 | title=On several groups and forms in ornithology, not hitherto defined | journal=Zoological Journal | volume=3 | pages=158–175, 343–363 [171] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/27485697 }}</ref> The genus name is from [[Ancient Greek]] σειουρος/''seiouros'' meaning "wag-tail".<ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=Seiurus | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=Seiurus | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=11 September 2025 }}</ref>

Three [[subspecies]] are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>
* ''S. a. aurocapilla'' ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766) – breeds in central, southeast Canada and east USA, winters in north South America
* ''S. a. cinereus'' [[Alden H. Miller|Miller, AH]], 1942 – breeds in central west USA, winters in Middle America
* ''S. a. furvior'' [[Charles Foster Batchelder|Batchelder]], 1918 – breeds in Newfoundland (southeast Canada), winters in West Indies and east Middle America

The ovenbird it is [[genetics|genetically]] distinct and occupies a [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] in the family [[Parulidae]].<ref name=Lovette/> Before the genetic studies, the [[waterthrush]]es were also included in ''Seiurus''<ref name="Curson et al. 1994"/><ref>{{cite book |author=Sibley, D. |title=The Sibley Field Guide to Birds |year=2000 |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |location=New York |isbn=0-679-45122-6 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0 }}</ref> but are now placed in a separate genus ''[[Parkesia]]'' as they are not closely related to the ovenbird.<ref name=Lovette/>
[[File:Seiurus aurocapilla MP.jpg|thumb|right|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 (bird)|thrush]]. Adults measure {{convert|11|-|16|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and span {{convert|19|-|26|cm|in|abbr=on}} across the wings.<ref name= Cornell>[http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ovenbird/lifehistory Ovenbird, Life History, All About Birds – Cornell Lab of Ornithology]. Allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref><ref>[http://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/biodiversity/species/6034/ Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute-Seiurus aurocapilla] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203042737/http://biogeodb.stri.si.edu/biodiversity/species/6034/ |date=2014-02-03 }}. Biogeodb.stri.si.edu. Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref><ref>[http://www.planetofbirds.com/passeriformes-parulidae-ovenbird-seiurus-aurocapilla Ovenbird (''Seiurus aurocapilla'')] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202094556/http://www.planetofbirds.com/passeriformes-parulidae-ovenbird-seiurus-aurocapilla |date=2014-02-02 }}. Planet of Birds (2011-06-08). Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref> They weigh {{convert|19|g|oz|abbr=on}} on average,<ref>[http://globalspecies.org/ntaxa/1000672 Seiurus aurocapilla (Ovenbird)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304214821/http://globalspecies.org/ntaxa/1000672 |date=2016-03-04 }}. Global Species. Retrieved on 2012-08-24.</ref> with a range of {{convert|14|-|28.8|g|oz|abbr=on}}.<ref name= Cornell/> Among standard measurements, the [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] is {{convert|6.8|to|8.3|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the [[tail]] is {{convert|5|to|5.8|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the [[Beak|bill]] is {{convert|1.1|to|1.3|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the [[Tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]] is {{convert|2|to|2.3|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<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 (color)|tawny]] fringes to the tertiary [[remiges]] and sometimes [[buff (color)|buff]]-tipped outer primary [[wing covert]]s. 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>{{Cite NIE|wstitle=Oven-bird|year=1905}}</ref> incorporating portions of the main song into a jumble of sputtering notes and mimicry as they dive back to earth. The [https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h6740ca.mp3 call] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608021111/http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h6740ca.mp3 |date=2010-06-08 }} 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 [[habitat]]s 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 [[shrub]]s; essentially, it thrives best in a mix of [[primary forest|primary]] and [[secondary forest]]. Ovenbirds [[bird migration|migrate]] to the southeastern United States, the [[Caribbean]], and from [[Mexico]] to northern [[South America]]. The birds are [[territory (biology)|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 {{convert|1,500|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[Above mean sea level|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 [[Azores|the Azores]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Alfrey |first1=Peter |last2=Monticelli |first2=David |last3=Legrand |first3=Vincent |last4=Birders on Corvo, Azores |date=2018 |title=Nearctic vagrants on Corvo, Azores, in 2005-17 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328639036 |journal=Dutch Birding |volume=40 |pages=297–317}}</ref> and a handful of records in [[Norway]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Guenther |first=Morten |url=https://nibio.brage.unit.no/nibio-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2499026/NIBIO_BOK_2018_4_5.pdf?sequence=2 |title=Norwegian Birds: Checklist in seven languages |date=2018 |publisher=Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research |isbn=978-82-17-02087-5 |edition=4th}}</ref> [[Ireland]],<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hobbs |first=J. |date=2016 |title=Irish Rare Bird Report 2015 |url=http://www.irbc.ie/reports/irbr/2015_IRBR.pdf |journal=Irish Birds |volume=10 |page=426}}</ref> and [[Great Britain]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=British Ornithologists' Union |date=2013 |title=The British List: a checklist of birds of Britain (8th edition) |journal=Ibis |volume=155 |issue=3 |page=672 |doi=10.1111/ibi.12069}}</ref> A live ovenbird on [[St Mary's, Isles of Scilly|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). [http://www.rbbp.org.uk/rbbp-reports.htm Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2004] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924085005/http://www.rbbp.org.uk/rbbp-reports.htm |date=2015-09-24 }}. ''British Birds'' 98: 628–694 [Ovenbird, p. 688].</ref> Ovenbirds are also regular vagrants in California.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2007 |title=Ovenbird |url=https://sdplantatlas.org/birdatlas/pdf/Ovenbird.pdf |website=San Diego Plant Atlas}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Robertson |first=Michelle |date=20 October 2021 |title=An unusual sight was spotted atop Salesforce Park this week |url=https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/salesforce-park-bird-ovenbird-rare-sight-16548670.php |work=SF Gate}}</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 animal|terrestrial]] [[arthropod]]s and [[snail]]s, 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 [[altriciality|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, [[American red squirrel|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>{{Cite journal |last=Davis, Jr. |first=William E. |date=1999 |title=About the Cover: Ovenbird |url=https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/bird_observer/vol27/iss3/10 |journal=Bird Observer |volume=27 |issue=3}}</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>{{Cite web |last=Frost |first=Robert |date=1916 |title=The Oven Bird |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44269/the-oven-bird |access-date=20 September 2024 |website=Poetry Foundation}}</ref> [[Robert Bly]] also makes reference to "the nimble oven bird" in his short poem "The Slim Fir Seeds".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bly |first=Robert |title=Turkish Pears in August |date=2007 |publisher=Eastern Washington University Press |isbn=978-1-59766-023-5}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Seiurus aurocapilla.ogv|Video of male calling
Seiurus aurocapilla nest Maine 1.JPG|Nest with chicks
Seiurus aurocapilla chicks.JPG|Six-day-old chicks
</gallery>
== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Curson et al. 1994">{{cite book|last1=Curson|first1=Jon|last2=Quinn|first2=David|last3=Beadle|first3=David|title=New World Warblers|location=London|year=1994|publisher=Christopher Helm|isbn=0-7136-3932-6}}</ref>

<ref name=Foster>E.g. of ''[[Cymbopetalum mayanum]]'' ([[Annonaceae]]): {{cite journal|author=Foster, Mercedes S|doi=10.1017/S0959270906000554|title=The potential of fruit trees to enhance converted habitats for migrating birds in southern Mexico|year=2007|journal=Bird Conservation International|volume=17|issue=1 |pages=45–61|doi-access=free|bibcode=2007BirCI..17...45F }}</ref>

<ref name=Henninger>{{cite journal|last=Henninger|first= W. F. |year=1906|title= A preliminary list of the birds of Seneca County, Ohio|journal=[[Wilson Bulletin]]|volume=18|issue=2|pages= 47–60|url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v018n02/p0047-p0060.pdf }}</ref>

<ref name=OOS>{{cite web |author=Ohio Ornithological Society |date=April 2004 |url=http://www.ohiobirds.org/publications/OBRClist.pdf |title=Annotated Ohio state checklist |access-date=2008-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040718101517/http://www.ohiobirds.org/publications/OBRClist.pdf |archive-date=2004-07-18 }}</ref>

<ref name=Lovette>{{cite journal|pmid=20696258|url=http://www.bio.sdsu.edu/pub/burns/Lovetteetal2010.pdf|year=2010|last1=Lovette|first1=IJ|last2=Pérez-Emán|first2=JL|last3=Sullivan|first3=JP|last4=Banks|first4=RC|last5=Fiorentino|first5=I|last6=Córdoba-Córdoba|first6=S|last7=Echeverry-Galvis|first7=M|last8=Barker|first8=FK|last9=Burns|first9=KJ|title=A comprehensive multilocus phylogeny for the wood-warblers and a revised classification of the Parulidae (Aves)|volume=57|issue=2|pages=753–70|doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.018|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution|bibcode=2010MolPE..57..753L }}</ref>

<ref name=Olson>e.g. a male wintering on [[Grand Cayman]] weighed {{convert|20.5|g|oz|abbr=on}}: {{cite journal | last1 = Olson | first1 = Storrs L. | author-link = Storrs Olson | last2 = James | first2 = Helen F. | last3 = Meister | first3 = Charles A. | year = 1981 | title = PDF fulltext Winter field notes and specimen weights of Cayman Island Birds | url = http://si-pddr.si.edu/dspace/bitstream/10088/6535/1/VZ_119_Cayman_bird_weights.pdf | journal = [[Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club]] | volume = 101 | issue = 3 | pages = 339–346 | archive-date = 2012-02-27 | access-date = 2009-11-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120227001814/http://si-pddr.si.edu/dspace/bitstream/10088/6535/1/VZ_119_Cayman_bird_weights.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>

<ref name=Stiles>Stiles, F. Gary & Skutch, Alexander Frank (1989): ''A guide to the birds of Costa Rica''. Comistock, Ithaca. {{ISBN|0-8014-9600-4}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
* [https://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ovenbird.html Ovenbird Species Account] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i6740id.html Ovenbird – ''Seiurus aurocapillus''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722215103/http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i6740id.html |date=2010-07-22 }} – USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* {{InternetBirdCollection|ovenbird-seiurus-aurocapilla|Ovenbird}}
* {{VIREO|ovenbird|Overbird}}
*[https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ovenbird/id Ovenbird info]{{Wikisource-inline|list=
** [[Robert Frost]], "[[s:The Oven Bird|The Oven Bird]]," ''[[Mountain Interval]]'', 1916
** {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Oven-bird|year=1905 |short=x |noicon=x}}
}}

{{Passeroidea|E.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q796672}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Parulidae]]
[[Category:New World warblers]]
[[Category:Native birds of Eastern Canada]]
[[Category:Native birds of the Eastern United States]]
[[Category:Birds of the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1766]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]