Seiurus aurocapilla
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It is the only species placed in the genus Seiurus. This migratory bird breeds in eastern North America and winters in Central America, many Caribbean islands, Florida and northern Venezuela.
Despite its name, it is not in the ovenbird family of birds. The ovenbird was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla aurocapilla. The specific epithet combines Latin aurum meaning "gold" with -capillus meaning "-crowned". Linnaeus based his entry on "The golden-crowned thrush" that had been described and illustrated in 1758 by the English naturalist George Edwards in his book Gleanings of Natural History. Edwards had been given a specimen that had been collected on a ship off the coast of Hispanola. The ovenbird is now the only species placed in the genus Seiurus that was introduced by English zoologist William Swainson in 1827. Swainson did not specify the type species until a later publication in the same year. The genus name is from Ancient Greek σειουρος/seiouros meaning "wag... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 2 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 3 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Ovenbird sighting in Chicago on a given day, based on 4,517 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 90th most-seen of the 314 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Ovenbird in Chicago on a given day, against under 5% in June–August and October–April, the lowest months. That is one of Chicago's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain against 50 mm in January.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ovenbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 31
Of the 31 cities where we can rate Ovenbird sightings, Chicago ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, about 20%), Havana (Cuba, about 20%) and Miami (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Parulidae
The closest relatives of the Ovenbird that you can see in Chicago (family Parulidae, New World Warblers) are Yellow-rumped Warbler (about 30%), Common Yellowthroat (about 20%) and American Redstart (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ovenbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Chicago (4,517 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
