374 BIRDS OF ONTARIO. 



Genus SEIURUH 8waixsox. 

 SEIURITS AITROCAPILLUS (Linn.). 



282. Oven Bird. (674) 



Crown, orange-lji'owii, Ijordered Mith two ))lack stripes, no .supeiciliaij- 

 line ; above, bright olive-green ; below, pure white, thickly spotted with dusky 

 on breast and sides ; a narrow maxillary line of blackish ; under wing coveits, 

 tinged with yellow; a white eye ring; legs, Hesii color. Hexes alike. Yoimtj : — 

 Similar. Length, ai-6^ ; wing, 3 ; tail, 'If^. 



Hab. — Eastern North America, north to Hudson's Bay Territory and 

 Alaska, l:)reeding from Kansas, the Ohio Valley and Virginia northward. In 

 winter. Southern Florida, the West Indies and Central America. 



Nest, on the ground, usually on a sloping bank, frequently roofed over 

 with an enti-ance at tiie .side : composed of twigs, leaves ami moss, and lined 

 with fine grass and hair. 



Eggs, four or five, creamy-white, spotted with rcddisii-laown and lilac-gray. 



The Oven Bird, so called from its hal)it of building its nest some- 

 what in the form of an oven, is a summer resident in Ontario, and is 

 very generally distributed, being found in suitable places all over the 

 country, from the early part of Ma}' till the beginning of .September. 

 To see it walking gingerl}^ on the ground, jerking its tail after the 

 manner of the Tit Lark, conveys the impression that it is a quiet, 

 retiring little bird, with clear, handsome markings ; but should it 

 mount to one of the middle branches of a tree, it is astonishing 

 to observe with what emphasis and energy it delivers its notes. 

 With a little help from the imagination, its song resembles the word 

 teacher, frecjuently repeated with increasing emphasis. This loud, 

 clear call may often be heard in the moist woods during the month 

 of May, but the bird is said to have also another song, more soft and 

 musical, which must be reserved for special occasions, for I have not 

 met with anyone who has heard it. 



In Alaska it is known to breed from Fort Yukon some distance 

 down the river, where the natives call it the Grandfather of tiie 

 Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 



SEIURUS NOVEBORACEN.SIS (Gmel.). 

 283. Water-thrush. (675) 



Entire upper parts, deep olivaceous-brown ; conspicuous superciliary line, 

 yellowish ; below, white, more or less tinged with pale yellowish, thickly and 

 sharply spotted with the color of the back, except on lower l)elly and ciissum ; 

 feet, dark. Length, ai-6 ; wing, 2f ; tail, 2^ ; bill, about h. 



