Black-and-White Warbler (Mniotilta varia)

The Black-and-White Warbler (Mniotilta varia) is a small migratory warbler which breeds in North America and winters in the Gulf Coast, the Caribbean, South America and mainland Central America.  Is the only member of its genus, Mniotilta, which means “moss-plucking”  a reference to the species' bark-foraging behavior. This species has the unusual habit of methodically foraging climbing up and down on tree trunks and thick limbs in search of insects and spiders hidden under the bark.   It has black and white stripes that run from the crown of its head to its rump. In all ages, females show buff to the flanks (though it may be very faint in adults), while males do not. The male has a black throat, and the female has a white throat. As nocturnal migrants, Black-and-White Warblers are a frequent victim of collisions with glass, towers, and wind turbines; as insectivores, they are vulnerable to pesticide poisoning. References: American Bird Conservancy. Black-and-white Warbler. Retrieved from: https://abcbirds.org/bird/black-and-white-warbler/ Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online:https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/bawwar Kricher, J. C. (2014). Black-and-white Warbler(Mniotilta varia), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.158