[4] Before the recent genetic studies were carried out, the waterthrushes were also included in Seiurus;[3][5] these are now treated separately in the genus Parkesia as they are not very closely related to the ovenbird.

[6] Etymologically aurocapilla comes from Latin and means "golden haired" and Seiurus is from Ancient Greek seiō, "to shake", and oura, "tail".

Most conspicuously, the olive-green tips of the crown feathers, which are hardly visible in adult birds, are far larger in extent in immatures and cover the orange crown-stripe almost or completely.

[2] The main song of the ovenbird is a series of strident, relatively low-pitched, bisyallabic motives repeated without pause about eight times and increasing in volume.

Their breeding habitats are mature deciduous and mixed forests, especially sites with little undergrowth, across Canada and the eastern United States.

For foraging, it prefers woodland with abundant undergrowth of shrubs; essentially, it thrives best in a mix of primary and secondary forest.

The birds are territorial all year round, occurring either singly or (in the breeding season) as mated pairs, for a short time accompanied by their young.

[2][14][15] This bird is an infrequent vagrant of Europe, with five individuals reported this century on the Azores[16] and a handful of records in Norway,[17] Ireland,[18] and Great Britain.

[2] The nest, referred to as the "oven" (which gives the bird its name), is a domed structure placed on the ground, woven from vegetation, and containing a side entrance.

The placement of the nest on the ground makes predation by snakes, red squirrels, and chipmunks (Tamias) a greater concern than for tree-nesting birds.

[25] Robert Bly also makes reference to "the nimble oven bird" in his short poem "The Slim Fir Seeds".