Ovenbird

The Ovenbird is a tiny songbird that you hear before you see. The beautiful plumage of these birds easily blends into the color of the forest, making it very difficult to spot them.

About Ovenbirds

These striking songbirds have attracted a lot of interest from the scientific community. As these birds are easy to observe, widely distributed, and are abundantly found they are the perfect birds to study. Therefore, they are also model subjects for understanding how habitat fragmentation affects songbirds. So far, the effect observed is significantly negative.

Ovenbirds are particularly dependant on suitable habitats for their survival and the success of their populations. Other than the issue of fragmented habitats, these birds are also plagued with brood parasitism and nest predation. As these songbirds are quite small and fragile, they are unable to protect themselves from such dangers.

Even in the presence of all these dangers to their populations, these songbirds maintain a large population. In the future, if these birds are to continue thriving, the continued existence of large areas of their preferred habitats is of paramount importance. Their habitats are in Appalachia, New England, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Wisconsin, and Ontario.

Ovenbirds are part of a monotypic genus, but in the past, they were clubbed together with some other species of birds in the family Parulidae. These birds are part of the only genus that has evolved separately from the rest of the family. In the past, Waterthrushes were also included in this genus, but now they are treated separately. These birds seem to have a significant effect on people, as they have been the subject of two widely known poems.

● Ovenbirds Photos, Color Pattern, Song
● Ovenbirds Size, Eating behavior, Habitat
● Ovenbirds Range and Migration, Nesting

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Ovenbird Color Pattern

Predominantly, the plumage of Ovenbirds is within shades of brown. They also have a complex arrangement of stripes and spots on their plumages. The color of the plumages of subspecies can differ slightly.

The natal down in which hatchlings are covered is either sepia brown or dark gray. In the first plumage of juvenile Ovenbirds, most of their body is cinnamon brown. Faint lateral stripes are present on their crown, and their back and scapulars have slightly darker streaks. Their tails and the upper portions of their wings are similar in color to the adults, but the rest of their body is paler in comparison. As soon as ovenbirds fledge, they molt out of this plumage.

Around August or September, the plumage of these birds begins to get slightly darker. This plumage has very few differences from its first basic plumage.

Adult Ovenbirds have white underparts with dusky streaks, and their chest and backs are have a lot of black streaks. The center of their throats have a greyish-olive tinge, distinctive white rings around their eyes, and the inner portions of their wings are greyish-brown.

During the breeding season, the outer portion of their plumage is generally brighter than during other seasons. This is due to the wear and tear these feathers experience. The plumages of both males and females are very similar, but females are slightly duller than males. If a birdwatcher wishes to identify the sex of ovenbirds, they might want to closely observe the median crown of these birds. A significantly lighter median crown would be a clear indication that the bird is a female.

Description and Identification

Ovenbirds are very distinctive birds that are not often confused with other species of birds. Only Waterthrushes are relatively similar in appearance to Ovenbirds. Northern Waterthrushes and Louisiana Waterthrushes are the only two birds that these birds could be confused with. Although if this confusion arises, they can be distinguished through their distinct white eye-ring and their rounder shape.

These birds have a very distinct odor that comes from their uropygial glands. Apart from this odor possibly serving the function of repelling ectoparasites, its purpose is unknown. Adult Ovenbirds look pretty much the same year-round, as molting does not change their appearance.

Nestlings and fledglings produce a number of vocalizations that develop further into more distinct calls. At this age, these birds usually make begging calls to ask for food, and sometimes younglings make alarm calls.

Ovenbird Song

Ovenbirds have a very distinct and unmusical song. A loud and ringing “teacher-teacher-teacher” song is quite variable between members of the same population. If you study theses birds carefully, you can identify individual birds by the manner in which they sing their song.

When males are about 100 feet close to their partners, they begin singing this song which is a series of repetitions of a single phrase. Each of these phrases consists of 3-5 notes, they generally repeat this song about 8-13 times in the duration of a single song. As the amplitude of the song increases over the first 5-6 phrases, there’s a crescendo effect. The primary function of this song that lasts for only 4 seconds is to attract females and to claim and protect territories.

Less frequently, an “attenuated song” is sung mostly when these birds are in flight. Prior to this song’s name being changed, it was called the “flight song”, but as it isn’t only sung when they are in flight the name had to be revised.

This song is slightly longer in length. This 4-7 second long song begins with “whink” notes and a “ple-bleep” sound. Following the initial portion of this song is a rambling section that can include more than 1 chip note and a few more “ple-bleep” notes.

The attenuated song is sung in many different instances. Some of these instances are when members of the two sexes are interacting by chasing each other, in aerial chases during territorial battles between males, and during copulation attempts. The “flight song” is a slightly different version of the attenuated song.

Other than these few songs, ovenbirds also sing a number of incomplete songs which typically comprise of 4-5 phrases. They sing these songs during courtship or regular bouts of singing. The male also sings this song when he is traveling with his mate.

Ovenbird Size

In general, Ovenbirds are quite small in size, but compared to other warblers they are large birds. These birds are 4.3-6.3 inches long and have a wingspan between 7.5-10.2 inches. On average, these birds weigh about 0.67 ounces.

Their wing chords are 2.7-3.3 inches in length, and their tail is slightly smaller averaging around 2.15 inches. The tarsus of an Ovenbird can be anywhere between 0.79-0.91 inches.

Ovenbird Behavior

Ovenbirds are highly territorial birds that use a number of aggressive displays and songs to protect their territories. Their territories can be as large as one hectare. These diurnal songbirds perform most of their songs during dawn, but they also sing through the rest of the day.

During the nights, Ovenbird flocks spend most of their time roosting in holes, nests, or burrows. Ovenbirds also sun themselves. On their breeding grounds, Ovenbirds divide their habitats between other Warblers. These birds generally use the slightly sloped areas and the uplands, leaving the other portions of the forest environment to the others.

Males claim their breeding territories during late spring. Although these birds make aggressive territorial displays, they very rarely indulge in physical contact with their opponents. Pair bonds between the sexes are formed in the breeding territory and only last till the young ones fledge.

Females are significantly more involved in raising their broods. These ground foragers walk around on the forest floor, searching for invertebrates amongst the leaf litter. Both sexes vigorously protect the nest, and if the female is alone when a predator arrives, she sits tightly on her nest till the very last moment before attempting to lead the predator
away by feigning injury.

Males and females split the younglings when the young are beginning to hop and walk. Most young ones spend the majority of their time chasing other younglings, it doesn’t matter if the younglings being chased are of a different species. The younglings remain on the breeding grounds, till the adults set off for winter migration.

Ovenbird Diet

The primary diet of Ovenbirds includes invertebrates; mainly arthropods. This is mainly the case for species that live in non-aquatic habitats. If the species are living in aquatic habitats, the reliance of ovenbirds on arthropods shifts to other invertebrates like mollusks and worms.

The diets of adult Ovenbirds generally consist of larvae, caterpillars, ants, adult beetles, and grasshoppers. Sometimes, Ovenbirds also consume lizards, bird eggs, crabs, fruits, seeds, and small frogs. Although these birds are mostly ground foragers, they employ a variety of other techniques to obtain their food. These birds hold down their prey with their feet while they consume it. This feature of theirs is particularly peculiar considering that they are songbirds.

Ovenbird Habitat

These birds live in almost all types of habitats. Although most of their populations are in lowland tropical forests, they can also be in mudflats, deserts, coastal sand dunes, rocky intertidal zones, bogs, open areas, scrubs, wet forests, agricultural areas, and saltwater marshes.

Ovenbirds can reside in elevations as high as 15,000 feet. A large number of populations belonging to their species live in regions near water or in rocky areas. Rocks are often foraging locations, or nest sites.

Range and Migration

Ovenbirds can only be in the Neotropics. Their range extends from central Mexico to the southern tip of South America. Other areas they can be found in are the Falkland and Juan Fernandez Islands, Trinidad, and Tobago.

Ovenbirds have a range that extends much farther south than the range of many other South American bird families.

Ovenbird Lifecycle

Ovenbirds begin breeding in the first breeding cycle following their hatching. The breeding cycle begins in Spring.

Females lay around 2-5 eggs per clutch. These eggs are predominantly white, and they sometimes have a greenish, bluish, or buff tinge. Females lay eggs on alternate days, and the incubation period goes on for up to 22 days.

Chicks take about 13-29 days to fledge. The younglings stay within the territory of their parents, but they become capable of feeding themselves 30 days after hatching. There isn’t much information available about the lifespan of Ovenbirds, although their annual survival rate is 71%.

Nesting

Ovenbirds mostly nest on the ground. Their nests are located at least 60-70 feet away from the edge of the forest. The female chooses the nesting site, typically on top of thick leaf litter.

The females require about 5 days to complete the nest-building process. She begins by clearing a circular spot with thick leaf litter and weaves a dome-shape nest they make with grasses, dead leaves, bark, stems, and hair. Ovenbirds have earned their name because their dome-shaped nests resemble a dutch oven.

The inner cup of the nest is 2 inches deep and has a diameter of 3 inches. They line it with horse or deer hair. The external portion of the nest blends in with the sticks and leaves.

Anatomy of a Ovenbird

Ovenbirds are round and stocky birds with short bills. These birds are generally heavier during the start of their migration.

Final Thoughts

These songbirds are quite interesting, and they possess a set of characteristics completely unique to them. Their singing patterns are especially interesting. When one male starts singing, another immediately joins, but to someone hearing from a distance, it sounds like only one bird is singing.

Ovenbirds are particularly important as they are a necessary means of understanding the effects of habitat fragmentation on songbirds. These heavily studied birds might be difficult for birdwatchers to spot as their plumage easily camouflages to its surrounding, but attempting is worth the effort.

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At the Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for Identifying Ovenbirds

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing Ovenbirds are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

Ovenbird Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the Ovenbird. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders ForOvenbirds

There are many types of bird feeders. Bird feeders are a great addition to your backyard. Bird feeders will increase the chances of attracting birds drastically. Both kids and adults will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. There are a wide variety of bird feeders on the market and it is important to find the best fit for you and your backyard.

Bird HousesForOvenbirds

There are many types of bird houses. Building a bird house is always fun but can be frustrating. Getting a bird house for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. If you spend a little extra money on bird houses, it will be well worth every penny and they’ll look great.