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Bird

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 20 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
20

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
20
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Virginia 20

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

1 of 20

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; 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.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County
SummerRidge 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.

Hemlock forests

Hemlock forest / rocky mountain stream
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.

Moist forests

Shortia beneath rhododendrons in mountain woodland
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.

Northern hardwood forests

Frozen northern hardwood forest, Baxter Creek Trail
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.

Pine flatwoods

Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer
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.

Pine savannas

Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype
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.

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense low pocosin
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.

Rich cove forests

Cove hardwood forest
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.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
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.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern 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 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.

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

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

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; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern 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

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

SummerWinterDisturbed, Non-specific

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 (113)

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

  • Developed, Low 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.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Northern Hardwoods Forest 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Northern Pine-(Oak) Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland 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.
  • Acadian-Appalachian Subalpine Woodland and Heath-Krummholz Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Winter, only within 120 m of water.
  • Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Winter, only within 120 m of water.
  • Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Winter, only within 120 m of water.
  • North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Winter, only within 120 m of water.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed 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 Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Swamp Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems 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.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Alkaline Conifer-Hardwood Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Boreal Acidic Peatland Systems 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.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Cumberland Riverscour 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 Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood 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.

All habitats

Seasons in Virginia

  • Year-round: nests here, in 9 of 133 counties and cities.
  • Summer: nests here, in 131 of 133 counties and cities.

Also found in this habitat

Plants 1112

Plants named in NatureServe descriptions of these habitats that grow in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food.

Wildlife 249

Other animals whose habitat models include the same habitats in Virginia. Not sighting records.

NatureServe Explorer, CC BY 4.0. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources