Black-and-white Warbler

About the Black-and-white Warbler

A warbler that behaves like a nuthatch, the Black-and-white Warbler is boldly striped in black and white from head to tail and creeps along trunks and branches, probing the bark for insects in a way no other warbler does. That zebra pattern and trunk-hugging habit make it one of the easiest warblers to recognize.

Its song is a thin, high, squeaky series - like a tiny, well-oiled wheel turning - delivered as the bird works methodically over the bark for beetles, caterpillars, and spiders.

In Texas the Black-and-white Warbler is a common migrant across the state and a breeder in the wooded east, with some spending the winter in the south and along the coast. Look for it spiraling up oaks and pecans in any shady woodland.

A note from behind the lens: because it forages on trunks and larger limbs rather than flitting in the leaves, it holds still more than most warblers - a real gift. Watch a bird work a favored tree, prefocus on the bark ahead of it, and catch that crisp black-and-white against the soft browns of the trunk.