Bird

American Goldfinch

Carduelis tristis

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 27 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 133 counties and cities
Habitats: 27

Male American Goldfinch, whole bird — **Male**. (c) froggymum, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY 4.0. iNaturalist photo 658337088. Source-provided large resize; no crop or image edits.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 133 counties and cities
Habitats: 27
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Virginia 27

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 27

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub RegenerationNamed place / source context. Shown: Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Georgia and Tennessee; which part is not recorded, a neighboring state.Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields, Richard Schlecht, undated. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterRidge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and WoodlandLimestone cedar glade. Shown: Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Kentucky, a neighboring state.Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County, Mason Brock (Masebrock), undated. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterAppalachian Hemlock-Hardwood ForestRegional / representative. Shown: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.Hemlock forest / rocky mountain stream, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed ForestRegional / representative. Shown: Mountains of North and South Carolina; exact site not identified, a neighboring state.Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier; Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous ModifierGrassy mountain bald with shrub islands. Shown: Andrews Bald, Forney Ridge Trail, Swain County, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Andrews Bald, Forney Ridge Trail, July 2020, Andrea Walton / Great Smoky Mountains National Park, July 2020. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterNorthern hardwood forest in winter. Shown: Baxter Creek Trail near Mount Sterling, Haywood County, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Frozen northern hardwood forest, Baxter Creek Trail, Brian Stansberry, undated. CC BY 3.0. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsWet pine flatwoods with a shrub layer. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsSandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and BaygallDense low pocosin. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Dense low pocosin, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural LakeshoreRegional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove ForestRegional / representative. Shown: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.Cove hardwood forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterRegional / representative. Shown: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee; representative habitat composite, not a documented exact viewpoint, a neighboring state.Spruce-fir forest, Hynes, Robert 'Bob', by 2012. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianNamed place / source context. Shown: Watauga Falls, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Watauga Falls, Illustrator/engraver not confidently attributed; reproduced in Zeigler and Grosscup, The Heart of the Alleghanies (1883), 1883. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampNamed place / source context. Shown: Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, as titled by Museum of Fine Arts Boston; nineteenth-century artistic interpretation, a neighboring state.View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina, Regis Francois Gignoux, 1850. Public domain. Source record.

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest; Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland; Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

SummerWinterCumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerWinterNortheastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

SummerWinter

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterCultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Shale barrens

Steep, sun-baked slopes of loose shale with sparse oaks and Virginia pine and their own endemic wildflowers. Linked only where the source names shale barrens; calcareous shale stays with the limestone glades.

SummerWinter

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Other habitats in its models (165)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Virginia.

Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer and winter.
Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Summer.
Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer and winter.
Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Winter.
Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.