Bird
Eastern Towhee
Pipilo erythrophthalmus
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
- Summer, Winter
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.


Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone








Streams, rivers and their banks


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.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
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.
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.
Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.
Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.
Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
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.
Other habitats in its models (92)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Virginia.
- Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
- Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
- Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
- South Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
- Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Summer and winter.
- Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter.
- Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Summer and winter.
- Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
- Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration 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.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub 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.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
- Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
- Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
- South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
- Cumberland Riverscour Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
- For forest classes treated as secondary habitat, the model selects edges; primary forest classes can include interiors.
Seasons in Virginia
- Year-round: nests here, in 9 of 133 counties and cities.
- Year-round: nests here, in 97 of 133 counties and cities.
- Summer: nests here, in 48 of 133 counties and cities.
Also found in this habitat
Plants 1116
Plants named in NatureServe descriptions of these habitats that grow in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food.
- Red MapleAcer rubrum
- Mountain LaurelKalmia latifolia
- White OakQuercus alba
- Pignut HickoryCarya glabra
- Flowering DogwoodBenthamidia florida
- American BeechFagus grandifolia
- Virginia CreeperParthenocissus quinquefolia
- TuliptreeLiriodendron tulipifera
- SourwoodOxydendrum arboreum
- Mockernut HickoryCarya tomentosa
- White AshFraxinus americana
- Northern SpicebushLindera benzoin
- Loblolly PinePinus taeda
- Christmas FernPolystichum acrostichoides
- Southern Red OakQuercus falcata
- Chestnut OakQuercus montana
- Post OakQuercus stellata
- Sun-facing ConeflowerRudbeckia heliopsidis
- Black HuckleberryGaylussacia baccata
- BlackgumNyssa sylvatica
- Virginia PinePinus virginiana
- Scarlet OakQuercus coccinea
- Rosebay RhododendronRhododendron maximum
- Common GreenbrierSmilax rotundifolia
Wildlife 257
Other animals whose habitat models include the same habitats in Virginia. Not sighting records.
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
NatureServe Explorer, CC BY 4.0. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Eastern Towhee
- 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
- Names follow the USGS Gap Analysis Project (2001)

















































