314 BLACK AND WHITE CREEPING WAEBLEE 



Black and White Creeping Warbler : Mniotilta 



varia. 

 (See Fig. 190, p. 347.) 



Black and white streaked above and below. Length, about 5 



inches. 

 GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION. Eastern North America ; breeds 



from the southern states north to Fort Simpson and Nova 



Scotia ; winters from Florida southward. 



This little Warbler is so uniformly striped with 

 black and white that beginners often dub him 

 ' the little zebra bird,' taking great satisfaction 

 in his unique characters. His habits are as 

 foreign to Warbler circles as his dress, for he 

 spends his time clambering about tree trunks and 

 branches like a Nuthatch. There is a difference 

 even here, however ; for while a Nuthatch creeps 

 up a tree with at least some show of regularity, 

 the Black and White, showing his Warbler blood, 

 zigzags back and forth and hops about, turning 

 to peck at every bit of loose bark, promising- 

 crotch, or dead tip of a broken branch. 



His song, too, is a family matter ; just a simple 

 little Warbler see-see-see-see, repeated a varying 

 number of times. Sometimes it is given loudly, 

 as the buzz of some flies is loud, but at oth- 

 ers, as when he sits in a sunny crotch and plumes 

 himself, he cons over the four little syllables in 

 a low, soft voice, as if talking to himself about 

 pleasant matters. 



