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

Male Brown-headed Cowbird, whole bird — **Male**. (c) cello caruso-turiello, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 656878277. 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: 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

Year-roundDisturbed/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.

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.

Year-roundSouth-Central Interior Mesophytic 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.

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.

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

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

Moderately dry forests

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

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

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

Year-roundDeveloped, Open Space; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

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.

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