Length: 5 inches | Wingspan: 8.5 inches | Seasonality: Summer / Migrant |
ID Keys: Nuthatch-like feeding behavior, black-and-white striping over entire body with white stripe over each eye. |
A warbler that behaves like a nuthatch, the Black-and-White Warbler feeds by crawling up and down tree trunks and branches, looking in crevices for insects. They are often found quite low in forest and woodland edges, a habit that makes them quite conspicuous, especially considering their bold black-and-white plumage and unique behavior. A common migrant in South Dakota, Black-and White Warblers are among the earliest spring warblers.
Black-and-white Warblers breed in deciduous and mixed woodlands, both mature forest and second-growth forest. During migration and in winter, they are still primarily found in woodlands, but will also sometimes be found in parks, gardens, orchards, and other semi-vegetated habitats.
Feeds almost exclusively on insects and spiders.
Does most of its foraging by clambering along tree branches and tree trunks in search of insects. They may climb upward as they forage like a Brown Creeper or go head first down a trunk like a nuthatch. Will also occasionally fly out from a perch to catch flying insects in mid-air.
June and July in South Dakota. The nest of a Black-and-white Warbler is a small cup, constructed of grasses, leaves, and weeds, and lined with finer material such as fine grasses, hair, and moss. It is typically placed on the ground in a protected location at the base of a stump or tree, next to a rock, or clump of vegetation. The female lays between 3 and 6 eggs, and she alone incubates them. The eggs hatch after 10 to 12 days, and the young fledge from the nest after another 10-12 days.
Click to access an interactive eBird map of Black-and-White Warbler sightings
The song of a male Black-and-White Warbler is a high-pitched, thin weesy-weesy-weesy-weesy. They also have thin tseet calls.
1Click here to hear a singing male Black-and-white Warbler, taken in Washington County, Maine.
2Click here to hear a simple flight call of a Black-and-white Warbler, taken in Lake County, Minnesota.
Summers in much of the eastern two-thirds of the United States and southern Canada. Winters along the Gulf Coast and points south, into northern South America.
Widespread and common, but there is some evidence of local declines from Breeding Bird Survey and other data. However, they're still found over a broad geographic area and populations are currently still strong. The IUCN considers the Black-and-White Warbler to be a species of "least concern".
1) USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter, Black-and-White Warbler
2) WhatBird - Black-and-White Warbler
3) Audubon Guide - Black-and-White Warbler
May 24th, 2012 - Acadia National Park, Maine - Terry Sohl
Click on the image chips or text links below for additional, higher-resolution Black-and-white Warbler photos.
1Sue Riffe, XC382120. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/382120.
2Andrew Spencer, XC103496. Accessible at www.xeno-canto.org/103496
Click on the map below for a higher-resolution view |
South Dakota Status: Common migrant throughout the state. Uncommon and local summer resident in portions of the western part of the state, casual in summer in the east. |