eBird maps track the Black and White Warbler

In ‘On the Move’, our regular migration column, we feature pairs of range maps from eBird that you can use to compare where birds of interest are at different times of the year. We featured the Black-and-White Warbler, pictured above, in our March/April 2019 issue.

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eBird maps show where the black-and-white warbler appeared in January 2008-18 (left) and April 2008-18.

The black-and-white warbler is distinctive in several ways, from its striking black-and-white streaks to its unusual (for a wood warbler) foraging behavior, in which it crawls along tree trunks and large branches, probing like a nuthatch. In January, during the non-breeding season, the warbler is mainly found from Mexico to northern South America and most of the Caribbean. Some individuals overwinter in parts of the southern United States, represented by purple squares on the January map. The species is quite hardy and there are winter records from places like coastal Oregon and New England. The black-and-white warbler is one of our earliest spring-migrating wood warblers, and by April a flood of individuals will have crossed the Gulf of Mexico to reach virtually all of the eastern United States. and parts of southern Canada. Listen for the male’s high-frequency song, usually a series of repeated verses somewhat resembling a squeaky wheel.

SView eBird’s real-time distribution map for the Black-and-white Warbler.

A version of this article appeared in “Birding Briefs” in the March/April 2019 issue of BirdWatching.