My thoughts, based on description of the head and behavior, would be a
White-crowned Sparrow. The black and white on the head can be very
flashy and they have a white stripe down the center of the head. They
are a fairly common summer nester here. I have several pairs in my
neighborhood.

Yvonne Bombardier
Everett, Wa
ravenn at premier1.net


> My daughter-in-law, who is a casual birder, recently asked my help for a
> long-distance ID.
> She says the bird "looked a lot like a black-throated gray warbler" but,
> it had a white stripe down the center of its head. I thought of
> black-and-white warbler immediately, but since this bird is not common in
> your area, we are hestitating. She also said she thought the bird had
> "more brown on it" than the BAWW. The bird was moving around at ground
> level, which also makes me doubt
> BAWW.
>
> Sorry for the vague description. Can anyone help?
>
> BTW, she lives on Ft. Lewis, which is where she saw this mystery bird.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Cathi Pelletier
> Waterbury, CT
> Heronwing at juno.com
>
>