Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Mniotilta varia

Black-and-white Warblers are quick-moving bark-foragers. They are one of our more common warblers, but they are hard to capture without a flash.
The binomial: the genus means moss-plucking, since they may use moss (and horsehair and grasses) to line their nests. Species epithet varia means varied, for the plumage.
Small bird, big tree. With a black throat and black lores, this is a male. Females have white throats and grayish lores.

mthew

5 responses to “Mniotilta varia”

  1. Susan

    Thanks for letting me see this lovely bird close-up, something I would have a difficult time doing in the city. Bringing nature closer to us is a great thing that you do.

    Reply
    1. mthew

      Thanks, Susan! I’m not getting out much, but I’ve had good luck with a few of the recent warblers, which will be posted in coming days.

      Reply
  2. elwnyc

    Hi Matthew,

    Can you tell what the warbler is holding in his beak? It looks like something that might have been in those round holes in the bark.

    Reply
    1. mthew

      Those mould be sapsucker holes, which might provide insects and spiders a place to put their eggs. There’s a lot of stuff tucked into bark.

      Reply
      1. elwnyc

        Thanks.

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