AWARBLER THAT CREEPS
A GOOD STARTER BIRD
This was a bird I learned quickly as a young birder for several reasons. First, it is well named. If nothing else this bird is black and white. Since my family was in the newspaper business one of the earliest jokes I learned was, "What is black and white and read all over?" This has always stuck in my mind. It's hard to think "black and white" without the other part. Second, this is a very observable bird, at least for a bird watcher.

It is a warbler. Warblers are very cool. If you are not a birder you probably know nothing about them. They don't come to bird feeders or usually hop around in the street. But if you look toward the back of your bird book (yes, you should have at least one of these) you will discover page after page of these brilliantly colored little birds. Over 30 different species are possible on Nantucket. I bet you can hardly wait to see them!

This warbler's official name is the Black-and-White Warbler. Its scientific name is Mniotolta varia, the varied moss plucker - really not an appropriate name. Perhaps someone told the Swedish naturalist, Carl Linnaeus, that they built their nests from moss. They certainly don't eat moss. But they definitely are black and white!

Black and White Warbler

Most warblers hang out in the treetops. They search for insect material in the leaves and are the source of a birding ailment - warbler neck. Birders have to really crane their necks to see most warblers. Black-and-Whites are more cooperative. Instead of working up in the leaves they work the bark instead. They are like nuthatches. They have a specially developed hind toe and claw on their feet that allows them to creep up and down tree trunks.

Like most warblers this is a tiny bird, smaller than a sparrow. It is mainly black with white stripes above and white with black stripes below. It shows two white bars on each wing. Girl Blackand Whites have more white on them than the boys, but in the fall these differences fade.

It is somewhat ironic that most warblers really do not warble. The Black-and-White's song is a high thin "wee-see-wee-see-wee-see," starting off faintly, building, then falling off again. It will definitely not break through the music on your MP3 player as you hike through the woods. But of course, birders are encouraged not to be listening to rock and roll when birding.

These warblers are generally ground nesters. They like to build their nests in a hollow at the base of a tree, or perhaps conceal it in the top of a stump. In some cases dead leaves will be arched over the top, further concealing it. They average five eggs in a clutch. In summer they can be found over the eastern part of our continent, as far north as southern Hudson Bay and down into the Georgia mountains. Their diet is almost entirely insects, no moss at all. The young birds are mainly fed juicy caterpillars.

Black-and-White Warblers are early migrants. Many pass through here in the fall. These are almost all birds that have just hatched and are making their first trip south. After October this is a very rare bird here and we've never found one on our Christmas Bird Counts. They winter in Florida and the Caribbean and across Central America. There they are described as 'catholic' in their habitat requirements, being found from sea-level up to 9,000 feet.

It was a real treat to see these birds back in the '50s. The Griscom and Folger Nantucket guide called them a rare vagrant and they had only been recorded six times in the autumn before that book was published in 1948. Now a combination of more bird watchers and perhaps more birds causes them to be considered common in May and August through mid-October. They are rare in June and July when they have been found to nest in several places on the island.

Good places to hear their "wee-see-wee-see" song include the beach forests of Masquetuck and the idyllic settings of Squam Swamp. If you hear the song, try making a 'pshhhhing' sound and listen for it to come closer. Look for an excited black and white bird marching

down a tree trunk near you. I

George C. West creates illustrations for these articles. If you enjoy 'social' birding, join the Nantucket Bird Club at 8 a.m. Sundays in front of Nantucket High School for a two to three hour birding trip. Call 228-1693 for more information. To hear about rare birds, or to leave a bird report call the Massachusetts Audubon hot line at 1- 781-259-8805. Ask Ken a question at: kenandcindy1@ comcast.net