Ovenbird
Seiurus aurocapilla
Parulidae
The 'Teacher! Teacher! TEACHER!' warbler of the eastern forest floor. Ovenbirds walk the ground like tiny thrushes — olive-brown above, black-streaked white below, with a rusty-orange crown stripe bordered in black. Named for their nest: a domed leaf-litter structure that looks like a Dutch oven from the side.
Arrives in May; departs September for Central America and the Caribbean.
How to spot one.
4.5–5.5 inches, walks like a small thrush
Olive-brown back, streaked black-and-white breast
Prominent orange crown stripe bordered by two black lines
White eye ring
Usually seen walking (not hopping) on the forest floor
What it sounds like.
Loud, rhythmic 'teacher-teacher-TEACHER!' — each phrase louder than the last. One of the most recognizable forest sounds in NJ June.
How it lives.
Ground-nester and ground-forager. Builds distinctive covered nest of leaves resembling a small oven, with a side entrance. Highly vulnerable to nest predation and Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism in fragmented forests.
The spec sheet.
- Status
- Summer breeder
- Size
- 4.3–5.5 inches
- Present in NJ
- May – September
- Native to NJ
- Yes
- Conservation status
- stable
- Family
- Parulidae
What it eats.
Diet often shifts dramatically between breeding season and the rest of the year — especially for insectivorous birds that pivot to native berries in fall and winter.
Summer / breeding season
Beetles, ants, caterpillars, spiders
Earthworms
Small snails
Various leaf-litter invertebrates
Fall / winter
Migrates to Central America, Caribbean, and northern South America
Winter diet: forest floor invertebrates in tropical forest
What it needs.
Native plants that feed this bird or provide shelter. Names in hydrangea link to the plant’s Field Guide entry.
Mature deciduous forest with leaf litter
Cover / habitat
Native oaks
Larval host tree (feeds caterpillars)
Forest understory shrubs
Cover / habitat
Audubon Field Guide · All About Birds (Cornell) · NJ Songbirds (NJDEP)
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