Ovenbird
Seiurus aurocapilla
Photo: Melissa McMasters from Memphis, TN, United States · Wikimedia · CC-BY 2.0 (licence)
Call and song
Recording 1 · song
Recording 2
Recording 3
About the Ovenbird
Secretive warbler that lacks vibrant colors, but compensates with an enormous voice. Olive-brown above with black streaks on white breast and bold white eyering. Orange central crown stripe bordered by black on either side. Forages for insects by walking along branches and on the ground with exaggerated footsteps and bobbing gait. Breeds primarily in areas with extensive deciduous or mixed forest. Winters primarily in Middle America and the Caribbean, where it can be quiet and difficult to detect. On the breeding grounds, listen for its loud song that builds in volume: “tea-cher, TEA-cher, TEA-CHER!”; also gives a sharp, high-pitched, metallic chip year-round. Possible to confuse with thrushes, but smaller, and walks instead of hops.
Species account: eBird.org, fetched 2025-12-26 · How these pages are made
Where it has been recorded
Recorded in 46 of the 253 countries we have eBird lists for. Each opens that country's checklist.
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bermuda
- Canada
- Caribbean Netherlands
- Cayman Islands
- Colombia
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Curaçao
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- France
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- High Seas
- Honduras
- Ireland
- Jamaica
- Martinique
- Mexico
- Montserrat
- Nicaragua
- Norway
- Panama
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Romania
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Martin (French part)
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon
- Sint Maarten
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Venezuela
- Virgin Islands (British)
- Virgin Islands (U.S.)
