Ovenbird

A medium-sized warbler that lives on the forest floor, often mistaken for a small thrush. Olive-brown above and white below with bold black streaks on the breast and sides. It has a conspicuous orange patch on the crown bordered by two black stripes (like an orange mohawk with racing stripes). The eye ring is faint and white, giving a somewhat big-eyed look. Usually detected by its loud "teacher, teacher" song from the leaf litter of mature forests.

“teacher, teacher, TEACHER!”

Deciduous or mixed forests with substantial leaf litter and minimal understory obstructions. Favors large, continuous tracts of mature forest, especially with oak, maple, or beech, and often near ravines or stream edges. Avoids very young regrowth or open woodlots for breeding, though during migration it may stop in smaller wooded patches. Winters in tropical forests, mostly in Central America and the Caribbean, where it stays on or near the ground in dense woods.

In spring, arrives on breeding territories and males immediately begin singing their explosive "teacher-teacher-teacher" song to establish territory and attract females. They nest on the ground, building a domed, oven-like nest out of leaves and grasses (hence the name "Ovenbird"). By early summer, they are raising chicks; both parents feed the young. Ovenbirds often cease singing by mid-summer once nesting is complete. In late summer, they remain hidden in the undergrowth, molting into fresh plumage. Come fall (August-September), they quietly slip southward; you might see one in a backyard or park during migration, flipping through leaf litter. During winter in the tropics, they are solitary and mostly silent, scratching through leaf litter in wooded habitats. By spring, they start moving north again and the males may give a few practice songs on the wintering grounds before departure, arriving back up north just as leaves are coming out.