The male is distinctive with his blue-gray back black throat and white belly. The female is a drab gray-brown bird. Both have a white wing spot or “handkerchief” that is a good identifying mark. This warbler is often found in lower elevations in the woods, usually in dark shaded understory. It nests in the northern United States and Canada, as well as, the mountains in Virginia.

Previously classified as a member in the genus Dendroica until findings based on the phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA in 2010. For more information, please see Lovette, Irby J. et al. (2010).