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The Black-and-White Warbler
An aptly named bird with a delightfully squeaky song.
© Greg Lavaty
Black-and-white Warblers are tiny songbirds that breed in North America’s deciduous forests and winter as far south as Colombia. They feast on insects gleaned from leaves or plucked from cracks in tree bark. You’ll often find them clinging to tree trunks or the undersides of thick branches — acting more like a nuthatch than a warbler. Like many songbirds, Black-and-white Warblers migrate at night — using the stars to navigate. Unfortunately, nocturnal light pollution can disrupt their sense of direction or cause them to collide with buildings. You can help Black-and-white Warblers by turning off outdoor lights and shading your windows at night, especially during migration season.
BirdNote is supported by Chris Cluett of Seattle, Washington — and generous listeners around the world.
BirdNote®
The Black-and-White Warbler
Written by Ariana Remmel
This is BirdNote.
Sometimes, birds have common names that aren’t very descriptive. Not so for the Black-and-white Warbler.
[Black-and-white Warbler]
Smaller than a sparrow, these stripey, black and white songbirds are always on the move. They feast on insects gleaned from leaves or plucked from cracks in tree bark. You’ll often find them clinging to tree trunks or the undersides of thick branches — acting more like a nuthatch than a warbler.
[Black-and-white Warbler]
In the winter months, Black-and-white Warblers thrive in a wide variety of habitats from the southern U.S. to Colombia. But they breed in North America’s deciduous forests, where males sing a repetitive, high-pitched “weesy, weesy, weesy” song, a little bit like a squeaky shopping cart.
[Black-and-white Warbler]
Like many songbirds, Black-and-white Warblers migrate at night — using the stars to navigate. Unfortunately, nocturnal light pollution can disrupt their sense of direction or cause them to collide with buildings. You can help Black-and-white Warblers by turning off outdoor lights and shading your windows at night, especially during migration season.
Learn more about Lights Out initiatives for birds when you visit our website, BirdNote.org. I’m Ariana Remmel.
[Black-and-white Warbler]
BirdNote is supported by Chris Cluett of Seattle — and by generous listeners around the world.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Producer: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Ariana Remmel
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Black-and-white Warbler ML635755019 recorded by Andrew Spencer and ML238436091 recorded by Glenn Seeholzer.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2026 BirdNote August 2026
Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# BAWW-01-2026-08-10 BAWW-01
Reference:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-and-white_Warbler/overview
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/bawwar/cur/introduction
Ariana Remmel
Writer NarratorSights & Sounds
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