birds with black and white heads

There are numerous birds that have black and white heads. Many of these are likely to visit your backyard feeders. Plus, you're likely to come across a variety of these different birds when you're out bird watching. So, how do you know which species you're looking at?

Learning the different identifying features of birds can help you to correctly identify the species that you're going to be photographing. This is also useful if you want to record how many different species visit your backyard feeders.

To help you, we've selected 15 birds that have black and white heads and explain what their most prominent features are.

How These Birds Compare In Size

Here's a comparison chart that shows the size of each of the birds we're looking at.

Common Name Scientific Name Height Weight Wingspan
Black and White Warbler Mniotilta varia 5.1 inches 0.5 ounces 8.7 inches
Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus 5.9 inches 0.5 ounces 8.3 inches
Black Crested Titmouse Baeolophus atricristatus 5.9 inches 0.7 ounces 9.8 inches
Blackpoll Warbler Setophaga striata 5.5 inches 0.5 ounces 9.1 inches
Black Skimmer Rynchops niger 19.7 inches 12.9 ounces 45.3 inches
Black-throated Gray Warbler Setophaga nigrescens 5.1 inches 0.3 ounces 7.8 inches
Carolina Chickadee Poecile carolinensis 4.7 inches 0.4 ounces 7.9 inches
Downy Woodpecker Dryobates pubescens 6.7 inches 1 ounce 11.8 inches
Hairy Woodpecker Dryobates villosus 10.2 inches 3.4 ounces 16.1 inches
Mountain Chickadee Poecile gambeli 5.5 inches 0.4 ounces 7.5 inches
Western Grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis 29.5 inches 64.4 ounces 25.2 inches
White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis 5.5 inches 1.1 ounces 10.6 inches
White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys 6.3 inches 1 ounce 9.4 inches
White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis 7.1 inches 1.1 ounces 9.1 inches
White Wagtail Motacilla alba 7.5 inches 0.8 ounces 12 inches

1. Black And White Warbler

The black and white warbler is a small songbird that has black and white stripes all over, including the head. The beak on this bird is quite long and curves downward slightly. It has a short neck and the head appears a little flat on top.

This bird has quite long wings and a relatively short tail. It feeds mainly on insects and tends to nest on the ground at the base of large trees.

2. Black-capped Chickadee

This is another very small songbird. It has a short neck and a large head. The head has a solid black cap and a wide white stripe that goes all the way around from under the eye. There's also a solid black patch under the beak.

The breast and belly are usually white or buff while the back feathers are a lovely gray color. The wings on this bird are gray with white tips. It has a short beak that is also black and small black eyes that can be difficult to see with the black cap.

3. Black Crested Titmouse

The thing that you'll notice first on this bird is its black crest. The feathers behind the crest are gray and there are white feathers around the eye, under the beak and part-way down the chest. The belly is buff colored and the back feathers are a darker gray as are the wings and tail feathers.

This bird has a short black beak and a long tail. Its main diet consists of small insects and seeds. You might be lucky to spot this little cutie at your backyard feeder.

4. Blackpoll Warbler

In this species, it's only the male birds that have the black and white colorings. This male warbler has a black cap on its head. It also has white cheeks and a white chest and belly that is edged with black and white stripes. There's also a ring of black and white around its neck.

The wings are a variety of colors including brown, tan, white and some black. The bird also has orange-yellow legs and a tan-colored beak. Mostly, blackpoll warblers prefer to feed on insects.

5. Black Skimmer

You won't find the black skimmer visiting your backyard feeder because its primarily a seabird. However, if you're out bird watching, you want to keep an eye out for this one. The black skimmer has the most interesting markings.

It's mostly black all over including the top of the head but has a distinct white patch that starts below the eye and the end of the beak and continues right down the entire underside. When the bird's in flight it can be seen as black on top and white underneath except for the edges of the wings. Another striking thing about this bird is its bright orange beak that has a completely black tip. Plus, it also has bright orange legs.

6. Black-throated Gray Warbler

This diminutive little songbird is easy to identify by the small yellow patch on either side of its face just in front of the eye. This immediately distinguishes this bird from the black and white warbler. It also has black and white stripes all around its head and gullet.

The underside of the bird is mostly white but there are some black and white patches around the edge. The back feathers are a lovely dark gray interspersed with small areas of white. The wings are a mixture of gray, black and white. The bird also has a small black beak.

7. Carolina Chickadee

This cute little songbird also has a distinctive black cap on its head. The cheeks and back of the head are white and the throat is black. The underside of the bird moves from some white coloring on the chest to a light tan color on the belly.

The wings on this bird are a soft gray color and the short tail is also gray. It has quite a small beak that is dark gray.

8. Downy Woodpecker

Undoubtedly, you've had a visit from a downy woodpecker or two at your backyard feeder. This interesting bird also has black and white stripes on its head but with addition of a small red patch on the back of the head. This red patch is only visible on the male of the species.

This woodpecker also has a white underside and a white stripe down the back that is bordered with a large patch of black feathers. The wings are adorned with black and white checks.

9. Hairy Woodpecker

The hairy woodpeckers is almost identical in appearance to the downy woodpecker, except that its much larger. It has the same black and white striped face and the same red patch on the back of the head for male birds. It also has a slightly longer beak.

10. Mountain Chickadee

This cute little chickadee has a black and white striped head and a black patch under the beak. Unlike other chickadees, this bird has a small black cap followed by a white stripe over the eye, a black stripe around the eye and a wider wide stripe around the rest of the face and head.

The underside is mostly white and the back, wing and tail feathers are gray.

11. Western Grebe

This is another waterbird with very precise black and white markings. The top of the head is black. This black patch also covers the very distinct red eyes of the bird. Under the eyes, there's a large white patch that goes across the cheeks and down the long neck of the bird.

The black patch on top of the head continues down the back of the neck and onto the back which is also black. The bird also has a long yellow bill.

12. White-breasted Nuthatch

This little songbird has a black patch on top of its head which goes down the back of the neck. The face, including around the eyes, is white and this continues down the chest and the belly. The feathers on the back are gray and the wings and tail feathers are a combination of black and gray.

One other distinguishing feature of this bird is the chestnut-colored patch underneath the tail.

13. White-crowned Sparrow

The black and white stripes on the head of this little sparrow look somewhat out of place as the rest of the bird is more gray, tan and brown colored. The bird also has a small yellow beak and dark brown legs.

14. White-throated Sparrow

This is another sparrow with very distinctive head colorings. There are black and white stripes on the top of the head and a black stripe that goes from the back of the eye to the back of the head. There's also a small white patch just under the beak which is small and gray.

The cheeks of the bird are dark gray and this continues on to the chest. The rest of the feathers on the bird are tan and brown with a bit of black and white on the wings.

15. White Wagtail

The white wagtail has a small black cap, white around the eye area and the cheeks and a black patch underneath the beak going slightly down to the chest. Most of the underside of the bird is white while the back feathers are a soft gray in color. In contrast, the wings and tail are a combination of brown, white and black.

The bird also has a thin black beak and long black legs.

Final Thoughts

Most of the birds that have a black and white head are small songbirds that are likely to visit your backyards. The only exceptions are a couple of waterbirds with very distinct black and white markings.