Animal Diversity Web

Di­ver­sity

Oven­birds are New World birds found only in the neotrop­ics. They be­long to the order Passer­i­formes and fam­ily Furnari­idae. There are 55 gen­era of oven­birds and 236 species. Oven­birds can be found in al­most all habi­tats from rocky in­ter­tidal zones to de­cid­u­ous for­est, desert and high alpine areas. They are im­por­tant mem­bers of all bird com­mu­ni­ties in South Amer­ica and in some re­gions they ac­count for 25 per­cent of all bird species.

Oven­birds are small to medium sized birds (10 to 26 cm long, 8 to 109 g). Their plumage is pri­mar­ily shades of brown; how­ever, they often have com­plex pat­terns of spots and stripes. Some species have wing­bands, tail patches or more brightly col­ored throat patches. They have very di­verse bill and tail struc­ture. Bill shapes and sizes re­flect for­ag­ing habits. Oven­bird tails are often stiff­ened and have bare feather tips, mod­i­fi­ca­tions that aid the birds in climb­ing. Males and fe­males look sim­i­lar, al­though males may be slightly larger.

Oven­birds are monog­a­mous, and pairs often re­main to­gether from year to year. They are well known for their di­verse and often com­plex nest struc­tures. In fact, the name oven­bird comes from the oven-like struc­ture of some species’ nests.

Al­though oven­birds as a group oc­cupy a wide range of habi­tats, many in­di­vid­ual species have very re­stric­tive habi­tat re­quire­ments. Be­cause of these re­quire­ments their ranges are often small and frag­mented. This, com­bined with an­thro­pogenic habi­tat de­struc­tion has lead to pop­u­la­tion de­clines in many oven­bird species. (Dick­in­son, 2003; Rem­sen, 2003; Sib­ley and Ahlquist, 1990; Skutch, 1996)

Ge­o­graphic Range

Oven­birds are New World birds found only in the neotrop­ics. They can be found from cen­tral Mex­ico to the south­ern­most parts of South Amer­ica. They are also found on Trinidad, To­bago and the Falk­land and Juan Fer­nan­dez Is­lands. Their range ex­tends much far­ther south and to much higher el­e­va­tions than many other South Amer­i­can bird fam­i­lies. Eighty nine per­cent of Furnari­idae species are en­demic to South Amer­ica. (Rem­sen, 2003; Roper and Hut­son, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• Biogeographic Regions
• neotropical
  • native
• oceanic islands
  • native

Habi­tat

Oven­birds are found in al­most all habi­tat types. Though their high­est di­ver­sity is in low­land trop­i­cal for­est, they are also found in desert, mud­flats, coastal sand dunes, salt­wa­ter marshes, rocky in­ter­tidal zones, bogs, marshes, open areas, scrub, wet cloud for­est, urban and agri­cul­tural areas. Oven­birds can be found from sea level to el­e­va­tions of 4500 me­ters. Many species are found in areas near water and in rocky areas where rocks are used as for­ag­ing sub­strates or nests sites.

Some species have strict habi­tat re­quire­ments. For ex­am­ple, point-tailed palm­creep­ers (Berlep­schia rik­eri) are only found in groves of palm trees which may be small and iso­lated. Arau­cara tit-spine­tails (Lep­tas­thenura se­taria) are re­stricted to a sin­gle tree species, Arau­caria an­gus­ti­fo­lia. (Rem­sen, 2003; Roper and Hut­son, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• Habitat Regions
• temperate
• tropical
• terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• desert or dune
• forest
• rainforest
• scrub forest
• mountains

• Aquatic Biomes
• lakes and ponds
• rivers and streams
• coastal
• brackish water

• Wetlands
• marsh
• swamp
• bog

• Other Habitat Features
• urban
• suburban
• agricultural
• riparian
• estuarine

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Oven­birds are small to medium sized birds (10 to 26 cm long, 8 to 109 g). Their plumage is pri­mar­ily shades of brown. How­ever, they often have com­plex pat­terns of spots and stripes. Some species have wing­bands and tail patches that can be seen when the birds are in flight. Some have more brightly col­ored throat patches that can be ex­posed dur­ing dis­plays. Or­ange-fronted plushcrowns (Metopothrix au­ran­ti­aca) are green and yel­low, and are the only brightly col­ored oven­bird.

Oven­birds have very di­verse bill and tail struc­ture. Bill shape and size re­flect for­ag­ing habits, and range from long, broad and curved to short and straight. Oven­bird tails are often stiff­ened and have bare feather tips. These mod­i­fi­ca­tions in tail mor­phol­ogy aid the birds in climb­ing. Some species have stan­dard passer­ine tails and oth­ers have very long tails. Oven­birds' wings are usu­ally short and rounded, al­though they are oc­ca­sion­ally pointed. These birds also have large feet and thick legs. The bill, legs and feet are dark in most species.

Male and fe­male oven­birds look sim­i­lar, al­though males may be slightly larger. Ju­ve­niles are col­ored dif­fer­ently than adults and tend to be more cryp­tic. Molt­ing does not change the ap­pear­ance of adult birds. Oven­birds give off a unique musty odor that is thought to come from the oil in the uropy­gial gland. It is not known if the smell has any func­tion, but it may help repel ec­topar­a­sites. (Rem­sen, 2003; Roper and Hut­son, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• Other Physical Features
• endothermic
• bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike
• male larger

Re­pro­duc­tion

Oven­birds are monog­a­mous. They de­fend nest­ing ter­ri­to­ries and pairs are often life­long. Lit­tle is known about the breed­ing be­hav­iors of oven­birds, but there are some records of courtship be­hav­iors by some species. Some oven­birds sing while per­form­ing a wing rais­ing dis­play and oth­ers have dis­play flights where they hover 50 me­ters above the ground while singing. Courtship feed­ing has also been noted for some species. There is some sug­ges­tion that there may be helpers at the nest in some species, but the ev­i­dence is not con­clu­sive. Ob­ser­va­tions have been made of the young of the first brood help­ing to build the nest for the sec­ond brood. (Rem­sen, 2003; Roper and Hut­son, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• Mating System
• monogamous

Most oven­birds breed dur­ing the spring and sum­mer or dur­ing the onset of the wet sea­son, but some may breed year-round. In most species, breed­ing oc­curs dur­ing pe­ri­ods of max­i­mum arthro­pod abun­dance. Oven­birds usu­ally have one or some­times two broods per year, but they will re­place broods if they are lost.

Nest con­struc­tion may begin months be­fore the breed­ing sea­son. Oven­bird nests are quite vari­able. They can take from two weeks to three months to build and can weigh up to five kilo­grams. Oven­birds build three dif­fer­ent types of nests: adobe mud nests, nests in cav­i­ties and domed nests. Adobe nests look like ovens and are the root of the birds’ name. These nests are made of mud, plant ma­te­r­ial and dung and are usu­ally lined with grass. Cav­ity nests are usu­ally placed in a wood­pecker hole or a nat­ural cav­ity, or are a bur­row that is usu­ally a long tun­nel, up to one meter into a cliff or bank. It is not known if all the bur­row nest­ing species ex­ca­vate the tun­nels or if some use tun­nels dug by ro­dents or other an­i­mals. These nests are lined with grass, wood­chips, spi­der web and other ma­te­ri­als. Domed nests are made of veg­e­ta­tion such as sticks and grass. Some species use twigs from thorny plants, mak­ing the nests dif­fi­cult for preda­tors to de­stroy. The birds also use barbed wire, snake skin, feath­ers and bone as nest ma­te­ri­als. Nests are built in cac­tuses or thorny veg­e­ta­tion or hang­ing from branches, and can be up to two me­ters long. Some nests have tubu­lar en­trances 30 to 40 cm long. Oven­bird nests are usu­ally en­closed and pro­vide pro­tec­tion from preda­tors.

Clutch size ranges from two to five. The eggs are white, and some have a bluish, green­ish or buff tinge. Eggs are laid on al­ter­nate days, and in­cu­ba­tion lasts from 14 to 22 days. Chicks are al­tri­cial and fledge in 13 to 29 days; larger species have longer nestling pe­ri­ods than smaller species. After fledg­ing, young may re­main in their par­ent’s ter­ri­tory for up to 13 months, though they are often be able to feed them­selves after 30 days. (Rem­sen, 2003; Roper and Hut­son, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• Key Reproductive Features
• iteroparous
• seasonal breeding
• year-round breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual
• fertilization
  • internal
• oviparous

Males and fe­males have sim­i­lar roles dur­ing breed­ing; both help build nests, in­cu­bate eggs, feed nestlings and fledg­lings and re­move fecal sacks. In­cu­ba­tion lasts from 14 to 22 days. Chicks are al­tri­cial and fledge in 13 to 29 days; larger species have longer nestling pe­ri­ods than smaller species. After fledg­ing, young may re­main in their par­ent’s ter­ri­tory for up to 13 months even though they are often be able to feed them­selves after 30 days. (Rem­sen, 2003; Roper and Hut­son, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• Parental Investment
• altricial
• male parental care
• female parental care

Lifes­pan/Longevity

There is no in­for­ma­tion about lifes­pan/longevity for oven­birds. An­nual adult sur­vival has been es­ti­mated to be about 71 per­cent. (Rem­sen, 2003)

Be­hav­ior

Some species of oven­birds are mi­gra­tory, oth­ers are seden­tary. Birds liv­ing at high el­e­va­tions may make al­ti­tu­di­nal move­ments as sea­sons change. They are usu­ally found in pairs. How­ever, some species form mixed-species feed­ing flocks dur­ing the non-breed­ing sea­son and may mi­grate in groups. They are ter­ri­to­r­ial and de­fend their ter­ri­to­ries with song, wing flap­ping dis­plays, feather fluff­ing, ex­pos­ing bright throat patches and rais­ing crown feath­ers. Ter­ri­to­ries range in size from 0.23 to 1 hectare.

Oven­birds are di­ur­nal. They sing most often at dawn, but will sing through­out the day. At night they roost in bur­rows, holes or nests. They have been seen sun­ning them­selves and anting. (Rem­sen, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• Key Behaviors
• flies
• diurnal
• motile
• migratory
• sedentary
• solitary
• territorial
• social

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

Most species of oven­bird sound sim­i­lar. Their calls have been de­scribed as un­mu­si­cal and harsh. Their calls are loud, but sim­ple, and com­posed of buzzy notes of vary­ing speeds that rise and fall in pitch. Pairs will sing in duets to de­fend ter­ri­to­ries and strengthen the pair-bond. Chicks use a beg­ging call to so­licit feed­ing by adults.

Oven­birds have nu­mer­ous dis­plays that they use in at­tract­ing mates and de­fend­ing ter­ri­to­ries. Dis­plays in­clude: ex­pos­ing bright throat patches, rais­ing crown feath­ers and lift­ing their wings to show their wingstripes. (Rem­sen, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• Communication Channels
• visual
• acoustic

• Other Communication Modes
• duets

• Perception Channels
• visual
• tactile
• acoustic
• chemical

Food Habits

Oven­birds feed pri­mar­ily on arthro­pods and other in­ver­te­brates. Their main in­sect prey in­clude: Or­thoptera (grasshop­pers and rel­a­tives), Hy­menoptera (they eat ants only within this group), Coleoptera (bee­tles) and lar­val Lep­i­doptera (but­ter­flies and moths). Species that live in aquatic habi­tats will eat non-arthro­pod in­ver­te­brates such as mol­lusks and worms. Oc­ca­sion­ally oven­birds will eat small frogs, lizards, bird eggs, crabs, seeds and fruit.

Oven­birds' bill shapes and sizes re­flect the for­ag­ing habits of each species. Oven­birds dis­play a di­ver­sity of feed­ing strate­gies in­clud­ing: hang­ing up­side-down to reach under leaves, prob­ing, glean­ing, wad­ing in shal­low water, look­ing for in­sects in bark and sift­ing through the leaf lit­ter. Their tails are mod­i­fied to help them climb trees in search of food (see Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion). Oven­birds will use their feet to hold down their prey while they eat it. This be­hav­ior is un­com­mon among Passer­i­formes. (Rem­sen, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• Primary Diet
• carnivore
  • insectivore
  • eats non-insect arthropods
  • molluscivore

Pre­da­tion

Other than owls (fam­ily St­rigi­dae), few preda­tors of adult oven­birds are known. Nest preda­tors in­clude: snakes (sub­or­der Ser­pentes), Guira cuck­oos (Guira guira), road­side hawks (Buteo mag­nirostris), black-chested buz­zards (Ger­a­noae­tus melanoleu­cus) and opos­sums (fam­ily Didel­phi­dae). Oven­birds’ pri­mary de­fense against nest preda­tors is the de­sign of their nests. Nests are often hid­den in cav­i­ties or tun­nels, or if they are ex­posed, they are pro­tected by thorns or cacti. (Rem­sen, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• Known Predators

  • owls (Strigiformes)
  • snakes (Serpentes)
  • Guira cuckoos (Guira guira)
  • roadside hawks (Buteo magnirostris)
  • black-chested buzzards (Geranoaetus melanoleucus)
  • opossums (Didelphidae)

Ecosys­tem Roles

Other an­i­mals such as in­sects (for ex­am­ple bee­tles and so­cial wasps), ro­dents, lizards, snakes, frogs and other birds use oven­bird nests for shel­ter or breed­ing. Oven­birds them­selves, how­ever, do not usu­ally re-use nests. Bot­fly lar­vae (Gas­terophil­i­dae) often at­tack nestlings as do other nest par­a­sites (Hemiptera, Psam­mo­lestes, Tri­atoma and Aca­rina). Oven­birds im­pact the pop­u­la­tions of the prey species they eat. They are also hosts to in­tro­duced nest par­a­sites, shiny cow­birds (Molothrus bonar­ien­sis) (Rem­sen, 2003)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Oven­birds eat in­sects that are crop pests in agri­cul­tural areas. They are also sought out by bird­watch­ers. (Rem­sen, 2003)

• Positive Impacts
• ecotourism
• controls pest population

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

Oven­birds some­times build nests on elec­tri­cal poles and cause dam­age to elec­tri­cal sys­tems. (Rem­sen, 2003)

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

An­thro­pogenic habi­tat de­struc­tion is the main threat to oven­birds today. De­for­esta­tion, burn­ing, graz­ing and in­creases in agri­cul­ture all re­duce and frag­ment oven­bird habi­tat. Many oven­bird species have very nar­row habi­tat re­quire­ments. These species are par­tic­u­larly vul­ner­a­ble to habi­tat de­struc­tion and frag­men­ta­tion be­cause they are not able to move to new habi­tat when theirs is de­stroyed. Cur­rently the IUCN lists 3 species of oven­bird as “Crit­i­cally En­dan­gered”, 9 species as “En­dan­gered”, 15 as “Vul­ner­a­ble” and 18 as “Near Threat­ened”. Species that live in areas that are un­de­sir­able to hu­mans (for ex­am­ple, high alpine habi­tats) are doing well and some species are able to adapt to mod­er­ate dis­tur­bance lev­els. Species that live in urban areas are also doing well and are ex­tend­ing their ranges as urban areas ex­pand.

Oven­birds are also suf­fer­ing as a re­sult of in­tro­duced species. House spar­rows (Passer do­mes­ti­cus) take over their nest sites and shiny cow­birds (Molothrus bonar­ien­sis) par­a­sitize their nests. (IUCN, 2003; Rem­sen, 2003; Skutch, 1996)

• IUCN Red List [Link]

  Not Evaluated

Other Com­ments

The name Furnari­idae means “baker” and stems from the ob­ser­va­tion that the nests of some species of oven­birds have an oven-like shape.

Con­trib­u­tors

Alaine Cam­field (au­thor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Kari Kirschbaum (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Ref­er­ences

Dick­in­son, E. 2003. The Howard and Moore Com­plete Check­list of the Birds of the World, 3rd edi­tion. Lon­don: Christo­pher Helm.

IUCN, 2003. "2003 IUCN Red List of Threat­ened Species" (On-line). Ac­cessed March 23, 2004 at http://​www.​redlist.​org/​.

Payne, R. 2003. "Bird Fam­i­lies of the World" (On-line). Ac­cessed March 23, 2004 at http://​www.​ummz.​lsa.​umich.​edu/​birds/​Bird_​Families_​of_​the_​World.​html.

Rem­sen, J. 2003. Fam­ily Furnari­idae (Oven­birds). Pp. 162-357 in J del Hoyo, A El­liott, D Christie, eds. Hand­book of the Birds of the World. Barcelona: Lynx Edi­cions.

Roper, J., A. Hut­son. 2003. Oven­birds. Pp. 438-441 in C Per­rins, ed. The New En­cy­clo­pe­dia of Birds. Ox­ford: Ox­ford Uni­ver­sity Press.

Sib­ley, C., J. Ahlquist. 1990. Phy­logeny and Clas­si­fi­ca­tion of Birds, A study in Mol­e­c­u­lar Evo­lu­tion. New Haven: Yale Uni­ver­sity Press.

Skutch, A. 1996. Antbirds & Oven­birds, Their Lives and Homes. Austin: Uni­ver­sity of Texas Press.