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Bird

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 22 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
22

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
22
Habitat models
Year-round

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Virginia 22

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

1 of 22

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
Year-roundDisturbed/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
Year-roundRidge 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
Year-roundAppalachian 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
Year-roundSouthern 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.

Mountain balds

Andrews Bald, Forney Ridge Trail, July 2020
Year-roundSouthern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub 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.

Northern hardwood forests

Frozen northern hardwood forest, Baxter Creek Trail
Year-roundNorthern 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
Year-roundCentral 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
Year-roundCentral 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
Year-roundAtlantic 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
Year-roundSouthern 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.

Spruce-fir forests

Spruce-fir forest
Year-roundRegional / 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.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
Year-roundCentral 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
Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Central Interior and Appalachian 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.

Dry forests and woodlands

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

Year-roundSouthern 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.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - 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

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.

Year-roundCumberland 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.

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

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

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

Year-roundNortheastern 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.

Year-round

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.

Year-round

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.

Year-roundDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation
Other habitats in its models (130)

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

  • Developed, Low Intensity Year-round.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • South Florida Hardwood Hammock Year-round.
  • Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Year-round.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Year-round.
  • Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • South Florida Pine Rockland Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Year-round.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
  • Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Year-round.
  • Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Year-round.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Year-round.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Year-round.
  • Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Year-round.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Year-round.
  • South Florida Bayhead Swamp Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Year-round.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • South Florida Cypress Dome Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Cumberland Riverscour Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • South Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.

All habitats

Seasons in Virginia

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

Also found in this habitat

Plants 1208

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

Wildlife 202

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