Ovenbirds are thrush-like warblers, with the appearance of a thrush, and in the family of warblers. Their call sounds as if they are saying "teacher." This bird is an omnivore and a secondary consumer, so it can be predator or prey. The ovenbird's appearance helps a lot with camouflage. Since it has a brown splotched white stomach, it is able to blend in with the sky and tree branches when seen from below. Also, since this warbler has a brownish green back and wings, it blends into the trees and leaf litter when seen from above. The bill has a purple/brown top, and a light pink/brown bottom, it is wide at the base and pointed at the tip, it is slightly curved, used for catching insects. The legs are a very light brown/pink, and are very short, without feathers until they meet the body, used for walking and foraging. The feet are light pink/brown/red feet, with clear/pink claws, and has 3 toes forward and 1 toe back, used for perching and catching insects. The male ovenbird has two dark brown stripes down its head with a bright orange stripe in between, it has a white ring around its black eyes, and a light brown wing and head, its stomach is white with dark brown splotchy spots, and the white continues all the way up to the beak. The female ovenbird looks the same as the male, but the orange stripe that the male has is a light orange/brown on the female. The differences between the two genders is called diversity, just like between other ovenbird individuals. Although the ovenbird doesn't have mutualism with any organism, or any known commensalism with any species, it does have symbiosis. The ovenbird has symbiosis with the Veery, because they are two of few birds that nest on the ground. Also, they both can eavesdrop on chipmunks conversing with each other, so they know where to keep their nests from. The ovenbird does not have much mimicry for survival, but has been spotted mimicking the red-eyed vireo song. It has also been seen mimicking the songs of the robin, purple finch, and the white-eyed vireo. In the year 2015, the highest count of the ovenbird's population was 33,865 ovenbirds in the month of May.

The ovenbird's ecosystem is the mature stage of the deciduous forest (a climax community), this is also the 4th stage of ecological succession. Ovenbirds don't live in pioneer communities because they prefer the protection of leaved trees, and dead leaf litter. These abiotic (nonliving) factors cannot be found in coniferous forests. Deciduous trees have leaves, unlike coniferous trees with needles and cones, hence their name. Deciduous trees are crucial to an ovenbird's lifestyle because they need the leaves to make their nests on the ground. Deciduous forests can also be called limiting factors, because this habitat is inhabited with lots of insects, making it easier for ovenbirds to survive. Other necessities for their nest can be twigs, bark, grass, and even animal hair can come in handy.

Another requirement to an ovenbird's lifestyle is lots of insects. An ovenbird's diet mainly consists of forest bugs, any they can find. Among the many it consumes is the stag beetle. Stag beetles have a life cycle of egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. They can live almost anywhere, from hot to cold, and dry to damp. Their diet includes leaves, wood, seeds, and fruit. Stag beetles are herbivores, biotic (living) factors, and are primary consumers.

Despite the ovenbird's mainly insect diet, some may munch on a red mulberry or two, from time to time. Red mulberries are the only species of mulberries that are native to North America. The red mulberry tree's life cycle is seed, seed with leaves, seedling, small tree, growing tree, and mature tree, but it can be simplified. Red mulberries get their energy from sunlight and water, and can grow on monoecious and dioecious trees. They are primary producers, biotic (living) factors, and use photosynthesis.