Mniotilta varia
Silhouette: Jason Dilworth · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The black-and-white warbler (Mniotilta varia) is a species of New World warbler, and the only member of its genus, Mniotilta. It breeds in northern and eastern North America and winters in Florida, Central America, and the West Indies down to Peru. It has been recorded as a vagrant in Northern Europe, especially Britain and Ireland. Relative to other New World warblers, it is not well studied.
The black-and-white warbler was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Motacilla varia. The specific epithet is from Latin varius meaning "various", "diverse" or "variegated". Linnaeus based his entry of the "small black and white bird" that had been described by the Irish physician Hans Sloane in 1725 and "Le Figuier varié de S. Domingue" that had been described by the French ornithologist Louis Vieillot in 1760. Linnaeus specified the location as Jamaica and Dominica but this was restricted to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic by the American Ornithologists' Union in 1910. The black-and-white warbler is now the only species placed in the genus Mniotilta that was introduced by... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Havana | 🇨🇺 Cuba | |
| 2 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 4 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Guatemala City | 🇬🇹 Guatemala |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Zoological Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-and-white Warbler sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 937 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 93rd most-seen of the 279 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and October
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Black-and-white Warbler in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against under 5% in June–July and November, the lowest months. Those are among Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge's wettest months, with about 160 mm of rain a month against 50 mm in March.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-and-white Warbler sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
50th of 77
Of the 77 parks where we can rate Black-and-white Warbler sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ranks 50th at about 10%. The best odds are in Gros Morne National Park (Canada, about 60%), Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (Jamaica, about 60%) and Tikal National Park (Guatemala, about 50%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Parulidae
The closest relatives of the Black-and-white Warbler that you can see in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (family Parulidae, New World Warblers) are Yellow-rumped Warbler (about 40%), Palm Warbler (about 40%) and Common Yellowthroat (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-and-white Warbler is recorded against all the birds logged in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (937 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
