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Bird

Common Raven

Corvus corax

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in 58 of 133 counties and cities, across 21 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
58 of 133 counties and cities
Habitats
21

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
58 of 133 counties and cities
Habitats
21
Habitat models
Year-round

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Virginia 21

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

1 of 21

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop
Year-roundSouthern Piedmont Cliff; Southern Appalachian Montane CliffRock outcrop on a mountain summit. Shown: Sassafras Mountain, on the North Carolina and South Carolina line, a neighboring state.Sassafras Mountain rock outcrop, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Core Banks dunes, June 2013
Year-roundUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune)Dune grassland. Shown: Core Banks, Cape Lookout, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Core Banks dunes, June 2013, Jarek Tuszyński, June 2013. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source record.

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-roundSouthern Interior Calcareous Cliff; Ridge 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 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 Modifier; Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous 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.

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-roundCentral Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest; 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.

Year-round

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; 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-roundCentral Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; 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-roundNorth-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus; Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens

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

Mountain bogs and fens

Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.

Year-round

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

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

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 (69)

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

  • Developed, Low Intensity Year-round.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Year-round.
  • Developed, High Intensity Year-round.
  • Quarries, Mines, Gravel Pits and Oil Wells Year-round.
  • Barren Land Year-round.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Year-round.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Year-round.
  • Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Year-round.
  • Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Year-round.
  • North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Year-round.
  • Southern Interior Acid Cliff Year-round.
  • Southern Appalachian Rocky Summit Year-round.
  • Southern Appalachian Granitic Dome Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak 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.
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Year-round.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly 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.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Year-round.
  • Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Year-round.
  • Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub 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.
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Year-round.
  • Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Year-round.
  • Central Tallgrass Prairie Year-round.
  • Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Year-round.
  • Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Year-round.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Year-round.
  • Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Year-round.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Year-round.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Year-round.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Year-round.
  • Cumberland Riverscour Year-round.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Year-round.

All habitats

Seasons in Virginia

  • Year-round: nests here, in 58 of 133 counties and cities.

Also found in this habitat

Plants 1048

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

Wildlife 257

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