Black-And-White Warbler
Mniotilta varia
Habitat
Mid-canopy
Diet
Invertebrate
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
11 g
About This Species
This distinctively striped black-and-white warbler forages like a nuthatch, creeping along tree trunks and thick branches probing bark crevices rather than gleaning from leaves. Listen for its thin, high-pitched, wheezing song, reminiscent of a squeaky wheel, in deciduous and mixed forest during the breeding season. Spring migration and the early breeding season offer the best combination of song and accessible views before dense summer foliage closes in.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Standing still on a trail and letting this active forager work its way closer is far more effective, and less disruptive, than following it through undergrowth.
- Migratory songbirds and their nests are protected under federal law in the US and Canada, so nest searching and handling should always be avoided.
- Playback of recorded song should be used sparingly if at all, since repeated exposure can disrupt territorial behaviour during the breeding season.
LCAvesPasseriformesParulidae
Seasonal Activity
3,297,330 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Parulidae
Traits
- Diet
- Invertebrate
- Foraging
- Mid-canopy
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 11 g
Photo
(c) Holly Merker, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Holly Merker
CC-BY-NC-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.