Bird

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 23 habitats.

Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 133 counties and cities
Habitats: 23

Male American Kestrel, whole bird — **Male**. (c) Jonathan Eisen, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 75920516. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: All year
Nesting: Nests here
Range: All 133 counties and cities
Habitats: 23
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Virginia 23

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

1 of 23

SummerSouthern Piedmont Cliff; Southern Appalachian Montane CliffWilliam Frerichs, North Carolina Mountain Landscape: rocky bluffs and ledges above a river in the Carolina mountains. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: North Carolina mountains (William C. A. Frerichs), a neighboring state.North Carolina Mountain Landscape, William Charles Anthony Frerichs, c. 1855-1870. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterNorth-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus; Cumberland Sandstone Glade and BarrensBald Face above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, North Carolina: a bare granite dome rising above forest and a still lake (photochrom print, about 1902). Shown: Bald Face (Big Bald Face) above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, Jackson County, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Bald Face from Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, N.C., Detroit Publishing Co. (photochrom print), c. 1902. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old FieldLyell Carr, Black Mountain: a pasture and hayfield with a log barn, rail fence and grazing cow below the Black Mountains. Shown: Black Mountain, North Carolina (Lyell E. Carr), a neighboring state.Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain", Lyell Carr, c. 1890-1912. Public domain. Source record.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerWinterSouthern Interior Calcareous Cliff; Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland

Mountain balds

Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.

SummerSouthern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Appalachian 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.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed ForestHarvey Joiner, Woods Scene: tall beeches in a moist Kentucky woodland, light falling through a closed canopy onto a damp forest floor. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky beech woods (Harvey Joiner, Louisville painter of Kentucky beech forests; the painting does not name the site), a neighboring state.Woods Scene, Harvey Joiner, c. 1880-1920. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Southern 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.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Regional / 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.

SummerBeside its main habitat.South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianFrederic Edwin Church, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina (1865-70): a boulder-strewn mountain river under autumn-coloured ridges. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: North Carolina mountains (Frederic Edwin Church, oil sketch 1865-70; Cooper Hewitt), a neighboring state.Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70, Frederic Edwin Church, 1865-1870. Public domain. Source record.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; 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 SwampWilliam McIlvaine, The Chickahominy Swamp (1862): wind-tossed swamp trees standing in dark water under a storm. Chickahominy Swamp, VirginiaThe Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405, William McIlvaine (1813-1867), 1862. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerBeside its main habitat.Unconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune)

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.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.

Dry forests and woodlands

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

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Southern 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.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

Freshwater tidal marshes

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

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

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.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

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

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Northern hardwood forests

High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.

Pine flatwoods

Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pine savannas

Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin

Other habitats in its models (145)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Virginia. Those recorded in Virginia first, the rest by region.

In Virginia 3

Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer.
Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.

Elsewhere in the South (75)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter, beside its main habitat.
Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Dry Chalk Bluff Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter, beside its main habitat.
Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer, beside its main habitat.
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Flatwoods Summer, beside its main habitat.
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Southern Interior Acid Cliff Summer.
Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer, beside its main habitat.
Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Winter, beside its main habitat.

Northeast (4)

Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.

Midwest (12)

Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer.
Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer.
Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.

Land cover and other classes (51)

Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Winter, beside its main habitat.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer and winter.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland 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.
Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Tamaulipan Clay Grassland Summer.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer, beside its main habitat.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer, beside its main habitat.

All habitats

Seasons in Virginia

Year-round: nests here, in all 133 counties and cities.

County or city

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Virginia, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

American Kestrel uses many habitats in Virginia; these are its 3 most characteristic.