Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia Linnaeus       Field Guide IDs: NG-374; G-270; PE-232; PW-pl 50; AE-pl 564; AM(III)-160 Nest Location Nest Type Eggs & Mating System Dev. & Parental Care Primary & 2ndary Diet.. Foraging Strategy F I: 10 DAYS ALTRICIAL 0 - 2 feet F 5 (4-5) MONOG F: 8-12 DAYS MF HAWKS BREEDING: Deciduous and deciduous-coniferous forests, esp on hillsides and in ravines. ? broods. DISPLAYS: Courting male pursues female intermittently over a long period, with much song and display of plumage. NEST: Also rarely on platform near ground, concealed under dead leaves or branches; of leaves, coarse grass, etc., lined with fine materials. EGGS: White to creamy, flecked over entire surface with brown or markings mostly at large end, occ wreathed. 0.7" (17 mm). DIET: In early spring, insects including dormant forms, gleaned nuthatch-like from trunks and limbs. CONSERVATION: Winters s through Bahamas, C.A. and Caribbean (less frequent in Lesser Antilles) to n S.A. Frequent cowbird host. Very sensitive to fragmentation of forested breeding habitat. NOTES: One of the earliest warblers to arrive on breeding grounds; by foraging from bark, need not wait for trees to leaf out. Female performs distraction display if flushed from nest. STANFORD. NOTES: ESSAYS: Decline of Eastern Songbirds; Breeding Season; Island Biogeography; Cowbirds; Distraction Displays. REFERENCES: Harrison, 1984.