Length: A little over 6 inches.
Male and Female: Olive-brown above; head with a golden-brown crown,
bordered with two black lines that extend from bill to neck; under
parts white; a brown streak at each side of the throat; breast and
sides heavily streaked with black; no bars on wings, or patches on
tail.
Note: Mr. Forbush interprets the oven-bird's note as "_chick_,'
KERCHICK,' KERCHICK,' repeating the phrase an indefinite number of
times."[138] John Burroughs has rendered it as, "teacher, _teacher_,
teacher, TEACHER, _TEACHER_." The bird is frequently spoken of as
the "Teacher-bird."
Song: A "flight song" which Mr. Forbush describes as follows: "When I
lingered in the woods at evening until the stars came out, I heard a
burst of melody far above the treetops, and saw the little singer
rising against the western sky, simulating the Skylark, and pouring
forth its melody, not to the orb of day but to the slowly rising
moon; then, when the melody came nearer, the exhausted singer fell
from out the sky and shot swiftly downward, alighting at my very
feet."[138]
Habitat: Woodlands, where the oven-bird spends much of its time on the
ground.
Range: North America. Breeds in the forests of Canada and the United
States to Kansas, southern Missouri, Ohio Valley, Virginia, and in
the mountains of Georgia and South Carolina; winters from central
Florida to Colombia.
This shy forest-dweller is little seen except by the tireless haunter of
woods. I well remember my first quest for the owner of a voice that
seemed to proceed from every part of the small grove I was searching.
His ventriloquistic power led me on until I was about to give up in
weariness and discouragement, when suddenly I came upon this
golden-crowned warbler that had made the woods ring. He seemed very
small for so loud a vocalization.
Another day, quite by accident, I discovered his oven-shaped nest:
"Arched and framed with last year's oak-leaves,
Roofed and walled against the raindrops."[139]
Since that time I have had numerous views of oven-birds. One in
particular, seemed quite unafraid; and several times approached within a
few feet of where I was seated.