By Mary Alice Hayward
Mary Alice Hayward never thought much about birds until after retiring in 2021 and waking up one spring day to a bird attacking her dining room windows. Curiosity led her to find out what it was, a Great Crested Flycatcher. With that, her eyes opened up to discover and fall headfirst, deep down into the birding world. Mary Alice lives and birds on the Outer Banks barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean, North Carolina, USA. She travels often and birds every day, no matter where she goes. Her favorite birds are the black and white ones.
It came to me the moment I first saw Pied Kingfishers in Shanghai, China. Perched on power lines over a small creek, the pair of kingfishers was unmistakable. Slender long black bills, black dots on a bright white background, and fabulous goth black eyeliner. Beauties! I watched them through the tall reeds as they perched, observing their leafy green surroundings and the rippling surface of the water on the creek. I knew they would stay imprinted in my brain forever. Black and white. Easy for me to remember and admire. That’s when I realized it, I love black and white birds because they are striking, like the zebras of the bird world, and I can easily identify them (mostly). I am in China. New birds, new habitat, and here is this new bird, which is not a mystery, not ambiguous, just what it is. A Pied Kingfisher and unmistakable. My favorite black and white bird in Shanghai, China is the Pied Kingfisher. One bird. Continent one.
My realization made me think of other black and white birds I have seen as I have birded around the world. My favorite warbler in my home “patch” comes to mind. A Black-and-white Warbler is unmistakable, and this little bird visits my home patch in the Outer Banks of North Carolina twice a year. Like the stunning Pied Kingfisher, it too fits my parameters for easy identifiers: petite black bill, black stripes on a bright white background and fabulous goth black eyeliner with a dash of white eye ring for extra brightening. Every time I see one, I am thrilled because I know exactly what it is. No doubts, no looking up on the Merlin App or my favorite warbler guidebook. It is a Black and White. My favorite migrant warbler in the United States is the Black-and-white Warbler. Bird two. Continent two.
What about another continent? A couple of years ago, I had the good fortune to travel to Antarctica on a ship full of bird photographers and naturalists. Penguins galore, and I was lucky to see all the different ones living in the region. They are all black and white, with some even sporting orange crests or golden bibs, and are easy to identify as penguins. Of these, my favorite is the Gentoo Penguin. Besides having a great white “bonnet” across the top of their heads, black capes, and long stiff tail feathers that stand out when they walk (so cute!), Gentoos are fabulous iceberg divers. Their diving form shows courage, poise, and yes, I would give them 10 points for precision. Their walk with those stiff tail feathers cocked up just so gives Gentoos attitude. My favorite penguin in Antarctica is the Gentoo. Bird three. Continent three.
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