Ovenbird - BirdForum Opus

Alternative names: Golden-crowned Thrush, Golden-crowned Accentor

Photo by Glen Tepke
Public Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, May 2004

Seiurus aurocapilla

Identification

5 inches

• Thin, pointed bill
• White eye ring
• Orange central crown stripe with black border
• White underparts with dense black streaking
• Olive upperparts
• Pink legs
  

Sexes similar; young lack the orange crown

Distribution

North America from northeastern British Columbia east to Newfoundland south to Colorado (scattered), Arkansas, northern Alabama and northern South Carolina. Winters in Florida, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America.

Rare but regular vagrant throughout the western United States. Accidental to Greenland and Great Britain.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies¹:

• S. a. aurocapilla:

• Central and south-eastern Canada (Manitoba) to eastern US; winters to northern South America

• S. a. aurocapilla:

• Rocky Mountains of southern Alberta to west-central US; winters to Costa Rica

• S. a. aurocapilla:*

• Newfoundland; winters to Bahamas, Cuba and Panama

An additional subspecies canivirens breeding in southern Appalachia (is not recognized by many authorities.²)

Habitat

Mature deciduous and mixed forests, especially sites with less undergrowth.

Behaviour

Breeding

The domed nest resembles a Dutch oven, hence how the bird got its name. The female builds the ground nest from grass; it has a small side entrance. The 4-6 white eggs have irregular reddish-brown spots at the large end. The clutch is incubated for 11-14 days.

Diet

The diet includes crickets, ants, spiders, caterpillars, aphids, earthworms, moths, slugs and beetles.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Dunn, Jon; Garrett, Kimball. 1997. A Field Guide to Warblers of North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 9780395783214

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Ovenbird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Ovenbird

External Links

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