Black-and-white Warbler Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesBlack-and-white Warbler
Adult male
Small songbird with a thin, slightly curved bill. Striped black and white overall. Males have a black ear patch.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, May 06, 2017Adult female
Females are often paler, with a white throat, a grayish ear patch, and sometimes a wash of buff on the flanks.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, May 06, 2015Female
Typically forages on trunks and main branches, like a nuthatch. Note black-spotted undertail coverts.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibrarySantiago de Cuba, February 01, 2004Not all videos have sound
Female
Small songbird with a slightly curved bill. Immature and female birds have a whiter throat and a grayish ear patch.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, September 09, 2012Adult male
Creeps up and down trees and main branches like a nuthatch.
© Mark Farrell / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, April 28, 2017Adult male
Song is a thin whistle that sounds like a squeaky wheel spinning. The other, louder song audible here is a Common Yellowthroat.
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, June 25, 2011Not all videos have sound
Adult male
Heavily streaked black and white. Tail is dark with white spots on outer tail feathers.
© Ryan Schain / Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, May 01, 2010Adult male
Small songbird that is heavily streaked black and white.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, May 04, 2014Female
White undertail coverts with black spots are a distinctive field mark of Black-and-white Warblers.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 27, 1997Not all videos have sound
Adult female
Creeps up and down trees and main branches like a nuthatch.
© Myron Peterson / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, May 10, 2017Adult male
Picks insects from bark of twigs, branches, and tree trunks. Much less likely to forage among leaves than other warblers.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryApril 01, 1999Not all videos have sound
Similar SpeciesBlackpoll Warbler
Breeding male
Blackpoll Warblers have a solid black cap and a white cheek unlike Black-and-white Warblers.
© Simon Boivin / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, May 29, 2017Similar SpeciesYellow-throated Warbler
Adult
Although often seen creeping along trees like Black-and-White Warblers, Yellow-throated Warblers have bright yellow throats unlike Black-and-white Warblers.
© Meg Rousher / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, January 03, 2017Similar SpeciesBrown Creeper
Adult/immature
Brown Creepers have a similar behavior to Black-and-white Warblers, but they are smaller brown-and-white birds, with a longer tail that they prop against the tree for support, which Black-and-white Warblers don't do.
© David Turgeon / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, April 25, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
Compare with Similar Species
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Species in This Family
New World Warblers(Order: Passeriformes, Family: Parulidae)
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