When people seek out beautiful birds, they’re often drawn to the most colorful ones. Yet, beauty is about so much more than just colors. There are a lot of stunning birds around the world with black and white feather patterns. Even just in North America, some of the most mesmerizing birds are black and white. So, what are some common black & white birds in North America to keep an eye out for?
Black and White Birds Commonly Seen in the United States
Black and white colored birds stand out against green foliage or blue skies making them easy to spot. Several species display this striking color pattern that serves as camouflage or makes them more visible to potential mates. From tiny songbirds to large waterfowl, black and white birds can be found across the United States.
Some of the most frequently seen black and white birds in the U.S. include woodpeckers, chickadees, mockingbirds, juncos, and warblers. The downy woodpecker and hairy woodpecker are almost entirely black and white, with males sporting a red patch on their heads. These common woodpeckers forage for insects on tree trunks and visit backyard feeders. Black-capped chickadees and Carolina chickadees are tiny acrobatic birds with black caps and bibs contrasting their white cheeks. Their curiosity and intelligence make them regular feeder visitors.
Northern mockingbirds and eastern kingbirds stand out with their black wings against white bodies. Dark-eyed juncos are soft gray birds with white bellies commonly seen hopping on the ground beneath feeders. Black-and-white warblers display bold black and white streaks all over their bodies as they nimbly creep along branches. Other warblers like the blackpoll show black, white, and gray patterns.
Several larger black and white species are also easy to spot. Common loons and grebes are diving waterbirds with black and white checkerboard backs. Large shorebirds like the black-necked stilt and American avocet strike a dramatic pose with their black and white plumage and brightly colored legs. Gulls such as the herring gull and ring-billed gull appear mostly white with gray backs and black wingtips.
Ducks are also frequently black and white. From the tiny bufflehead to the large common eider several species of ducks display bold black and white patterns at least on the males. Female and juvenile ducks are often more cryptically colored. The most widespread duck with black and white plumage is the common goldeneye.
Some less common visitors display beautiful black and white patterns. Grosbeaks like the rose-breasted and evening grosbeak have black wings and white underparts. Larger birds like the magpie and shrike are adorned in black and white from head to tail. Even smaller birds like snow buntings and longspurs carry black and white colors.
With patience and a pair of binoculars, observers can find black and white birds in fields, forests, lakes, marshes, and coastlines across North America. This dual-tone plumage stands out in many environments, allowing birdwatchers to easily identify species from a distance. Whether perched high in a tree or floating across water, black and white birds add drama and contrast to America’s avian landscape.
1 Black Skimmer (Black & White Seabird) Image by Brian Tillotson via
Black skimmers have black backs and white bellies. Yet, their long, red bills with black tips are one of their most notable features. While flying, they skim the water with their unique bills, catching fish whenever they feel them. The shape of their bills allows them to quickly relax their neck and close their jaws to capture fish. In North America, these birds only appear along the east and west coastlines. Populations of them also appear in parts of South America.
White-Breasted Nuthatch Image by Rockytopk9 via
This species has a white face and belly paired with black and gray coloring on their wings and back. They’re called nuthatches because they collect large nuts and seeds, jam them into tree bark, and hit them with their sharp bills so they “hatch.” These birds typically stay in the same range year-round, which stretches across most of the United States, parts of Southern Canada, and inland areas of Mexico.
Black and white bird
FAQ
What type of bird is black and white?
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This small warbler is known for its zebra-striped, monochrome plumage and is a common sight in mature deciduous and mixed forests.
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This bird is a familiar sight across towns and countryside, easily recognizable by its black-and-white markings and long, wagging tail.
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This small woodpecker is an often acrobatic forager, at home on tiny branches or balancing on slender plant galls, sycamore seed balls, and suet feeders.
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This woodpecker is a larger version of the Downy Woodpecker, also with black and white plumage.
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This bird, also known as the American magpie, is a jay-like bird with a long tail and a heavy bill, found in the western half of North America.
What is the black and white bird that looks like a magpie?
The magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), also known as wee magpie, peewee, peewit, mudlark or Murray magpie, is a passerine bird native to Australia, Timor and southern New Guinea. The male and female both have black and white plumage, though with different patterns. John Latham described the species in 1801.
What is a crow sized black and white bird?
Black-billed magpie. The black-billed magpie (Pica hudsonia), also known as the American magpie, is a bird in the corvid family found in the western half of North America. It is black and white, with the wings and tail showing black areas and iridescent hints of blue and blue-green.
What looks like a Black-and-white Warbler?
The blackpoll warbler is also black and white in its summer plumage, but has a solid black cap. The black-and-white warbler can also be confused behaviourally with the pine warbler (Setophaga pinus) and yellow-throated warbler (Setophaga dominica).
What bird is black with a white belly?
The black-throated gray warbler is a small songbird that can be found in open woodlands and scrubland. It has a mostly black body with white stripes on its head, chest, and belly. The bird gets its name from the black throat patch it displays during the breeding season.
What is a small black bird with a white belly?
The Black Phoebe is a small and inconspicuous bird, with a range from southern North America through areas of northern South America. Its colouring is mostly black-brown with a white underbelly that looks as if it has been dipped in snow or white paint. This species is a type of flycatcher but is also known to catch small fish.
What bird has a red head and yellow body?
The goldfinch is a highly coloured finch with a bright red face and yellow wing patch. Sociable, often breeding in loose colonies, they have a delightful liquid twittering song and call. What does a wren bird look like?