floor | The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History

Leaf Lovers

Posted on Oct 1, 2017

Welcome to October! It is a wonderful month of the year for the leaf lovers among us, and one of the crew is certainly the Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla). These little warblers prefer to stay on the forest floor among the dead leaves that have now started to fall. I was very grateful for such an uncommonly sensational look at the loud but typically unseen species earlier this year. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator

Ovenbird

Posted on May 24, 2015

Those Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapilla) will soon be crafting their ovens on the forest floor, filling them with eggs and keeping a very low profile when near this home. This leaf-covered little dome nest is certainly what gave them their name. I’m glad it was not TEACHER-TEACHER-TEACHER instead! Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator

Black-and-white Warbler

Posted on May 11, 2015

I couldn’t let Twan have all the fun with the Black-and-white Warblers (Mniotilta varia), and this little creeper was spotted last week as it furiously crawled and flew all around tree trunks for its insect prey. You can even see one such snack in the last photo. These birds seem like they have so much personality, but when they are visiting us in May they are move, too busy to stop to chat for too long. I am envious of anyone who gets to enjoy them while they are more relaxed on the wintering grounds. However, even then they are said to be aggressive and territorial. Did you know that...

Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus)

Posted on Apr 23, 2015

Here’s a tremendous angle on the Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus) by RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser on a recent afternoon in New Jersey. What a gigantic world it must be to them…