Female Black-and-white Warbler
And then – another nice surprise in the same spot. While I was waiting and watching to see if the Gnatcatchers would come back again, I caught a glimpse of black-and-white stripes among the leaves, again very low, almost on the ground, though a little further back in the shadows of the edge of the woods. It disappeared, but I could see leaves rustling as it moved, and after a minute or two, a female Black-and-white Warbler emerged, still very low, creeping over leafy branches. Black-and-white striped all over, she looked only a little less crisp and bright than a male, just slightly faded, like yellowed pages; a prominent striped head, and white stripe over the eye, and a soft black pattern of spots showing under the tail when she turned up to search the underside of a branch. She moved quietly, not calling or making any sounds that I could hear. Then she paused, looked around – and flew across the road and high up into some tall pines.