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Bird

Fox Sparrow

Passerella iliaca

A winter visitor to Virginia, found in all 133 counties and cities and 16 habitats.

Here
Winter
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
16

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Winter
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
16
Habitat models
Winter

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Virginia 16

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

1 of 16

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
WinterDisturbed/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.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar glade in the Pennyroyal Plain, Simpson County
WinterRidge 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
WinterAppalachian 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
WinterSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed 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
WinterSouthern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub 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
WinterNorthern 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
WinterSouthern 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.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
WinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian SystemsNamed 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.

Dry forests and woodlands

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

WinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic 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

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

WinterCentral Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Central Appalachian Riparian - 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

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest

Moderately dry forests

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

WinterNortheastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest; Atlantic 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.

WinterDeciduous Plantation; Managed Tree Plantation

Spruce-fir forests

Spruce-fir forest
WinterBeside its main habitat.Regional / 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.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
WinterBeside its main habitat.Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; 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.

WinterBeside its main habitat.
Other habitats in its models (61)

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

  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Winter.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Winter.
  • South Florida Hardwood Hammock Winter.
  • Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Winter.
  • Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
  • Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Winter.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Winter.
  • South Texas Lomas Winter.
  • Recently Logged Areas Winter.
  • Recently Burned Winter.
  • Recently Burned Forest Winter.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Virginia

  • Winter: does not nest here, in all 133 counties and cities.

Also found in this habitat

Plants 842

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

Wildlife 238

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