Ovenbird of North America
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Ovenbird of North America
The ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapillus) is a species of small, migratory passerine that breeds in Canada and the Eastern United States.
Although birds that belong to the family Furnariidae are also known as ovenbirds, the North American bird is only distantly related to them. It belongs to a different family, the Parulidae, or New World warblers.
The ovenbird builds a nest that resembles an oven. The nest is built on the ground, is domed and made of woven grass, leaves and twigs. It has a small entrance hole on one side.
Ovenbirds live in forests.
They spend the winter in the southeastern United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and northern South America.
The ovenbird is about 6 inches long and weighs a little over half of an ounce.
It is olive-brown on top and its underparts are white with black streaks. It has a white ring around its eyes. The crown has an orange stripe with a black border.
Male and female ovenbirds are similar in appearance.
Ovenbirds eat invertebrates, including insects, spiders and earthworms, as well as seeds and small fruits. They find their food in leaf litter.
The female ovenbird builds the nest and incubates the eggs by herself.
The young are fed by both parents.
The ovenbird’s call sounds like “teacher, teacher”. It is therefore someties called the teacher bird.
In 1916, Robert Frost published a poem entitled The Oven Bird about this bird.