Ovenbird - Seiurus aurocapilla

Ovenbird has a partial preformative molt, and absent to limited prealternate molts that are restricted to the head. Age-related differences in wing and tail patterns are often subtle; especially by spring, a fair number of intermediates should be considered M-FCU (AHY) unless multiple characteristics indicate a particular age. Sex can generally be determined only by brood patch / cloacal protuberance during the breeding season.

Quick tips

• Look at the tertials - rusty or pale tips on juvenile feathers are useful to recognize FCF (HY) birds and may still be visible in some FCU (SY) birds, but can wear off by then, leaving them looking similar to the unmarked adult tertials of DCB/DCU (AHY/ASY) birds.
• Examine the rectrices - on FCF/FCU (HY/SY) birds they are relatively narrow and tapered to a point, while on DCB/DCU (AHY/ASY) birds they tend to be more broad and rounded toward the tip and occasionally include small white spots.
• In fall, consider the crown - on FCF (HY) birds the central crown stripe has little or not orange, whereas on DCB (AHY) individuals there is usually a fair amount of orange.

Species account prepared by McGill Bird Observatory (2016). Last updated by Marcel Gahbauer (Mar 2022)