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Bird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Molothrus ater

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 11 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
11

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
11
Habitat models
Year-round

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Virginia 11

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

1 of 11

Forest edges and thickets

Landscape label QS:Lit,"Paesaggio" label QS:Lhu,"Tájkép" label QS:Lca,"Paisatge" label QS:Lde,"Landschaft" label QS:Lpt,"Paisagem" label QS:Lda,"Landskab" label QS:Lsl,"Krajina" label QS:Lja,"風景" label QS:Lsv,"Landskap" label QS:Lpl,"Pejzaż" label QS:Luk,"Пейзаж" label QS:Lnl,"Landschap" label QS:Les,"Paisaje" label QS:Ltr,"Manzara" label QS:Lfi,"Maisema" label QS:Len,"Landscape" label QS:Lfr,"Paysage" label QS:Lmk,"Предел" label QS:Lru,"Пейзаж"
Year-roundDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub RegenerationPaul Sawyier, Landscape: young trees and shrubs in autumn colour crowding the rocky edge of a Kentucky woodland. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky (Paul Sawyier, Landscape; Johnson Collection), a neighboring state.Landscape label QS:Lit,"Paesaggio" label QS:Lhu,"Tájkép" label QS:Lca,"Paisatge" label QS:Lde,"Landschaft" label QS:Lpt,"Paisagem" label QS:Lda,"Landskab" label QS:Lsl,"Krajina" label QS:Lja,"風景" label QS:Lsv,"Landskap" label QS:Lpl,"Pejzaż" label QS:Luk,"Пейзаж" label QS:Lnl,"Landschap" label QS:Les,"Paisaje" label QS:Ltr,"Manzara" label QS:Lfi,"Maisema" label QS:Len,"Landscape" label QS:Lfr,"Paysage" label QS:Lmk,"Предел" label QS:Lru,"Пейзаж", Paul Sawyier, c. 1890-1917. Public domain. Source record.

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bald Face from Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, N.C.
Year-roundCumberland 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.

Moist forests

Woods Scene
Year-roundSouth-Central Interior Mesophytic 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.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain"
Year-roundDeveloped, Open Space; 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.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70
Year-roundCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; 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.

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.

Year-round

Dry forests and woodlands

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

Year-roundAllegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak 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.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - 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

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

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

Year-roundRidge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland

Moderately dry forests

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

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

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 (44)

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

In Virginia 1

  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Year-round.
Elsewhere in the South (17)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Florida Dry Prairie Year-round.
  • Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Year-round.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • South Florida Hardwood Hammock Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Year-round.
Midwest (2)
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Year-round.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Year-round.
Land cover and other classes (24)
  • Developed, Low Intensity Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
  • Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Year-round.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure Agriculture Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Forest Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Year-round.
  • Recently Logged Areas Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.

All habitats

Seasons in Virginia

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

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 295

Plant genera in its diet records (31)
  • Sorghum 12 diet records. 0 native plants in Virginia
  • Zea 6 diet records. 0 native plants in Virginia
  • Alopecurus 5 diet records. 2 native plants in Virginia
  • Ambrosia 5 diet records. 2 native plants in Virginia
  • Chenopodium 5 diet records. 3 native plants in Virginia
  • Murdannia 5 diet records. 0 native plants in Virginia
  • Amaranthus 4 diet records. 4 native plants in Virginia
  • Helianthus 4 diet records. 10 native plants in Virginia
  • Paspalum 4 diet records. 11 native plants in Virginia
  • Panicum 3 diet records. 7 native plants in Virginia
  • Avena 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Virginia
  • Digitaria 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Virginia
  • Eleusine 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Virginia
  • Polygonum 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Virginia
  • Setaria 2 diet records. 2 native plants in Virginia
  • Sporobolus 2 diet records. 7 native plants in Virginia
  • Triticum 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Virginia
  • Acalypha 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Virginia
  • Andropogon 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Virginia
  • Barbarea 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Virginia
  • Carex 1 diet record. 170 native plants in Virginia
  • Cyperus 1 diet record. 30 native plants in Virginia
  • Echinochloa 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Virginia
  • Hedeoma 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Virginia
  • Lespedeza 1 diet record. 9 native plants in Virginia
  • Oryza 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Virginia
  • Scirpus 1 diet record. 11 native plants in Virginia
  • Secale 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Virginia
  • Solanum 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Virginia
  • Vitis 1 diet record. 9 native plants in Virginia
  • Xanthium 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Virginia

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

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.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 86

Plants 381

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Virginia

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 96

Plants 1283

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in Virginia

Dry forests and woodlands

Birds 68

Plants 230

All of dry forests and woodlands in Virginia

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources