Bird
Eastern Bluebird
Sialia sialis
Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 13 habitats.
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 133 counties and cities
- Habitats
- 13
At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- All year
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 133 counties and cities
- Habitats
- 13
- Habitat models
- Summer, Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Virginia 13
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 13
Granite and other acidic rock outcrops
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone
Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.
Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.
High mountain forests of beech, yellow birch and sugar maple, including boulderfield forests.
Flat, sandy Coastal Plain pine woodlands, wetter than sandhills and denser than savannas.
Open, fire-kept longleaf pine stands over grasses and wildflowers on wet to moist sandy soil.
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.
Other habitats in its models (165)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Virginia. Those recorded in Virginia first, the rest by region.
In Virginia 3
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
- North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Elsewhere in the South (63)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Floodplain Forest Winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter.
- Edwards Plateau Dry-Mesic Slope Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Edwards Plateau Mesic Canyon Winter.
- Edwards Plateau Riparian Summer and winter.
- Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
- Llano Uplift Acidic Forest, Woodland and Glade Summer and winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
- Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Pitch Pine Lowland Summer and winter.
- Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Winter.
- Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
- South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
- Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Winter.
- Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
- Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter.
- Tamaulipan Floodplain Winter.
- Tamaulipan Savanna Grassland Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Floodplain Summer and winter.
Northeast (6)
- Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Eastern Boreal Floodplain Winter.
- Laurentian-Acadian Northern Hardwoods Forest Winter.
- North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Pitch Pine Barrens Summer and winter.
Midwest (22)
- Boreal Aspen-Birch Forest Winter.
- Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Eastern Great Plains Tallgrass Aspen Parkland Summer and winter.
- Great Lakes Alvar Summer and winter.
- Great Lakes Wet-Mesic Lakeplain Prairie Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Winter.
- North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Winter.
- North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
- Northern Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Northwestern Great Plains Aspen Forest and Parkland Winter.
- Northwestern Great Plains Floodplain Summer and winter.
- Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Northwestern Great Plains Riparian Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Dry Bur Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Sand Prairie Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.
West (28)
- Apacherian-Chihuahuan Mesquite Upland Scrub Summer and winter.
- Apacherian-Chihuahuan Semi-Desert Grassland and Steppe Summer and winter.
- Chihuahuan Gypsophilous Grassland and Steppe Summer and winter.
- Chihuahuan Loamy Plains Desert Grassland Summer and winter.
- Chihuahuan Sandy Plains Semi-Desert Grassland Summer and winter.
- Chihuahuan-Sonoran Desert Bottomland and Swale Grassland Summer and winter.
- Madrean Encinal Summer and winter.
- Madrean Juniper Savanna Summer and winter.
- Madrean Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Madrean Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter.
- Madrean Upper Montane Conifer-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Mogollon Chaparral Summer and winter.
- North American Warm Desert Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- North American Warm Desert Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Rocky Mountain Foothill Limber Pine-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter.
- Rocky Mountain Gambel Oak-Mixed Montane Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Rocky Mountain Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Riparian Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Juniper Woodland and Savanna Summer and winter.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Montane-Subalpine Grassland Summer and winter.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Savanna Summer and winter.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Cliff and Outcrop Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Foothill and Piedmont Grassland Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Shortgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
Land cover and other classes (43)
- Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
- Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous 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 - Hardwood Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Winter.
- Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
- Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
- Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer and winter.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
- Laurentian-Acadian Floodplain Systems Winter.
- Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter.
- North American Warm Desert Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Winter.
- Northwestern Great Plains - Black Hills Ponderosa Pine Woodland and Savanna Summer and winter.
- Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure Agriculture Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Recently Chained Pinyon-Juniper Areas Summer and winter.
- Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
- Tamaulipan Clay Grassland Summer and winter.
- Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Winter.
- Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
Seasons in Virginia
- Year-round: nests here, in all 133 counties and cities.
- Summer: nests here, in 1 of 133 counties and cities.
Fruit and seed plants
Plants in genera this bird was recorded eating, from diet studies across North America. Not a record of what it eats in your state.
34 native plants in Virginia. 8 not suggested for gardens
- Flowering DogwoodBenthamidia florida
- Silky DogwoodSwida amomum
- Alternate-leaf DogwoodSwida alternifolia
- Stiff DogwoodSwida foemina
- Gray DogwoodSwida racemosa
- Ilex opaca var. opacaIlex opaca var. opaca
- Mountain HollyIlex montana
- Possumhaw HollyIlex decidua
- Smooth WinterberryIlex laevigata
- Yaupon HollyIlex vomitoria
- InkberryIlex glabra
- Smooth SumacRhus glabra
- Eastern Winged SumacRhus copallinum var. latifolia
- Staghorn SumacRhus typhina
- Fragrant Sumac; Squawbush; Squaw BushRhus aromatica var. aromatica
- American PersimmonDiospyros virginiana
- Common WaxmyrtleMorella cerifera
- Northern BayberryMorella pensylvanica
- Southern BayberryMorella caroliniensis
- Thicket CreeperParthenocissus inserta
- Virginia CreeperParthenocissus quinquefolia
- Common HackberryCeltis occidentalis
- Dwarf HackberryCeltis pumila
- SugarberryCeltis laevigata
- Juniperus virginiana var. virginianaJuniperus virginiana var. virginiana
Native here, not suggested for gardens
- Round Leaf Dogwood Swida rugosa Rare or protected plant
- Silky Dogwood Swida obliqua Rare or protected plant
- Common Winterberry Ilex verticillata Ingestion caution
- Large Gallberry Ilex coriacea Rare or protected plant
- Longstalk Holly Ilex collina Rare or protected plant
- Michaux's Sumac Rhus michauxii Federally endangered
- Dwarf Bayberry, Dwarf Wax Myrtle Morella pusilla Rare or protected plant
- Ground Juniper Juniperus communis var. depressa Rare or protected plant
Matched by plant genus. Avian Diet Database
Also on these plants
- American Robin 20 of these plants
- Wood Thrush 11 of these plants
- Northern Cardinal 8 of these plants
- Luna Moth 6 of these plants
- Regal Moth 6 of these plants
- Spring Azure 5 of these plants
- Hackberry Emperor 3 of these plants
- Io Moth 3 of these plants
- Mourning Cloak 3 of these plants
- Question Mark 3 of these plants
- Cedar Waxwing 1 of these plants
- Juniper Hairstreak 1 of these plants
None of the other listed species.
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.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Birds 96
- Cape May WarblerDendroica tigrina
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Monk ParakeetMyiopsitta monachus
- Upland SandpiperBartramia longicauda
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- Hoary RedpollCarduelis hornemanni
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- Yellow-throated VireoVireo flavifrons
Plants 1283
- Pussy WillowSalix discolor
- Crooked-stem AsterSymphyotrichum prenanthoides
- Long Stalk AsterSymphyotrichum dumosum var. dumosum
- Canada LettuceLactuca canadensis
- Common HorseweedErigeron canadensis
- Annual FleabaneErigeron annuus
- Hairy FleabaneErigeron bonariensis
- Dog-fennelEupatorium capillifolium
- Carolina Crane's-billGeranium carolinianum
- Common Evening-primroseOenothera biennis
- Cutleaf Evening-primroseOenothera laciniata
- Northern Evening-primroseOenothera parviflora
Dry forests and woodlands
Birds 68
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Red CrossbillLoxia curvirostra
- Brown-headed NuthatchSitta pusilla
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- White-winged CrossbillLoxia leucoptera
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
Plants 230
- American ChestnutCastanea dentata
- Eastern Winged SumacRhus copallinum var. latifolia
- Godfrey's ThoroughwortEupatorium godfreyanum
- White ThoroughwortEupatorium album
- Sessileleaf Tick-trefoilDesmodium sessilifolium
- Leavenworth's SedgeCarex leavenworthii
- Southern Whitetinge SedgeCarex albicans var. australis
- Southern LoosestrifeSteironema tonsum
- Carolina LilyLilium michauxii
- Tall BellflowerCampanulastrum americanum
- Bigleaf SnowbellStyrax grandifolius
- Delicate Rabbit-tobaccoPseudognaphalium micradenium
Granite and other acidic rock outcrops
Birds 24
- Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- White-winged CrossbillLoxia leucoptera
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Cliff SwallowPetrochelidon pyrrhonota
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
Plants 52
- Paper Birch; Canoe BirchBetula papyrifera
- Elf OrpineDiamorpha smallii
- Narrowleaf BluecurlsTrichostema setaceum
- Shortpod DrabaAbdra brachycarpa
- Rock HarlequinCapnoides sempervirens
- Bradley's SpleenwortAsplenium bradleyi
- Lobed SpleenwortAsplenium pinnatifidum
- Appalachian SandwortGeocarpon glabrum
- Greenland SandwortGeocarpon groenlandicum
- Appalachian Cliff FernWoodsia appalachiana
- Appalachian Shoestring FernVittaria appalachiana
- Hairy LipfernMyriopteris lanosa
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Eastern Bluebird Elevation sea level to 1,219 m. Avoids forest interior
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001), modeled by watershed; migratory gives no dates
- NatureServe Explorer (CC BY 4.0), habitat names
- US Census TIGER/Line counties
- Avian Diet Database