Bird
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Stelgidopteryx serripennis
A summer resident that nests in Virginia. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 15 habitats.
- Here
- Summer
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 133 counties and cities
- Habitats
- 15

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Summer
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 133 counties and cities
- Habitats
- 15
- Habitat models
- Summer, Winter
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in Virginia 15
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)
Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.
Depression ponds and limesinks
Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.
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.
Wet, open, peaty mountain wetlands fed by seepage, often with sphagnum moss.
Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.
Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.
Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.
Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits


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.
Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.
Other habitats in its models (190)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Virginia. Those recorded in Virginia first, the rest by region.
In Virginia 2
- North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
Elsewhere in the South (29)
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter.
- Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
- Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
- Cumberland Riverscour Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Dry Chalk Bluff Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Edwards Plateau Mesic Canyon Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
- Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation Summer and winter.
- Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
- Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southern Interior Acid Cliff Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
- Tamaulipan Savanna Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
- Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Western Great Plains Floodplain Summer and winter.
Northeast (3)
- Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Summer and winter.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Heathland and Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
Midwest (19)
- Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Eastern Great Plains Tallgrass Aspen Parkland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Great Lakes Acidic Rocky Shore and Cliff Summer and winter.
- Great Lakes Alvar Summer and winter.
- Great Lakes Dune Summer and winter.
- Great Lakes Wet-Mesic Lakeplain Prairie Summer and winter.
- Great Plains Prairie Pothole Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Northern Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Northwestern Great Plains Floodplain Summer and winter.
- Northwestern Great Plains Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Northwestern Great Plains Riparian Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Dry Bur Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Western Great Plains Sand Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Western Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
West (102)
- Apacherian-Chihuahuan Semi-Desert Grassland and Steppe Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- California Central Valley and Southern Coastal Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- California Central Valley Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- California Mesic Serpentine Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- California Montane Woodland and Chaparral Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- California Northern Coastal Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- California Xeric Serpentine Chaparral Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Central California Coast Ranges Cliff and Canyon Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Chihuahuan Gypsophilous Grassland and Steppe Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Chihuahuan Loamy Plains Desert Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Chihuahuan Sandy Plains Semi-Desert Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Chihuahuan-Sonoran Desert Bottomland and Swale Grassland Summer and winter.
- Colorado Plateau Mixed Bedrock Canyon and Tableland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Colorado Plateau Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Columbia Basin Foothill and Canyon Dry Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Columbia Basin Foothill Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Columbia Basin Palouse Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Columbia Plateau Ash and Tuff Badland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Columbia Plateau Low Sagebrush Steppe Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Columbia Plateau Scabland Shrubland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Columbia Plateau Silver Sagebrush Seasonally Flooded Shrub-Steppe Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Columbia Plateau Steppe and Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Columbia Plateau Western Juniper Woodland and Savanna Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Great Basin Foothill and Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Great Basin Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Great Basin Xeric Mixed Sagebrush Shrubland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Inter-Mountain Basins Alkaline Closed Depression Summer and winter.
- Inter-Mountain Basins Cliff and Canyon Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Inter-Mountain Basins Interdunal Swale Wetland Summer and winter.
- Inter-Mountain Basins Playa Summer and winter.
- Inter-Mountain Basins Semi-Desert Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Inter-Mountain Basins Shale Badland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Inter-Mountain Basins Wash Summer and winter.
- Klamath-Siskiyou Cliff and Outcrop Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Klamath-Siskiyou Xeromorphic Serpentine Savanna and Chaparral Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Madrean Encinal Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Madrean Pinyon-Juniper Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Mediterranean California Coastal Bluff Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Mediterranean California Serpentine Barrens Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Mediterranean California Serpentine Fen Summer and winter.
- Mediterranean California Serpentine Foothill and Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Seep Summer and winter.
- Mediterranean California Subalpine Meadow Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Mediterranean California Subalpine-Montane Fen Summer and winter.
- North American Arid West Emergent Marsh Summer and winter.
- North American Warm Desert Active and Stabilized Dune Summer and winter.
- North American Warm Desert Badland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North American Warm Desert Bedrock Cliff and Outcrop Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North American Warm Desert Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- North American Warm Desert Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- North Pacific Alpine and Subalpine Bedrock and Scree Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Alpine and Subalpine Dry Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Avalanche Chute Shrubland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Bog and Fen Summer and winter.
- North Pacific Coastal Cliff and Bluff Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Hardwood-Conifer Swamp Summer and winter.
- North Pacific Herbaceous Bald and Bluff Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Hypermaritime Shrub and Herbaceous Headland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Hypermaritime Sitka Spruce Forest Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Hypermaritime Western Red-cedar-Western Hemlock Forest Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Intertidal Freshwater Wetland Summer and winter.
- North Pacific Lowland Riparian Forest and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- North Pacific Maritime Coastal Sand Dune and Strand Summer and winter.
- North Pacific Montane Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Montane Massive Bedrock, Cliff and Talus Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- North Pacific Serpentine Barren Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Shrub Swamp Summer and winter.
- North Pacific Volcanic Rock and Cinder Land Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- North Pacific Wooded Volcanic Flowage Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Northern and Central California Dry-Mesic Chaparral Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Northern California Claypan Vernal Pool Summer and winter.
- Northern Rocky Mountain Conifer Swamp Summer and winter.
- Northern Rocky Mountain Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Northern Rocky Mountain Lower Montane, Foothill and Valley Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Northern Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Upper Montane Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Rocky Mountain Alpine-Montane Wet Meadow Summer and winter.
- Rocky Mountain Bigtooth Maple Ravine Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Rocky Mountain Cliff, Canyon and Massive Bedrock Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Rocky Mountain Lower Montane Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Rocky Mountain Lower Montane-Foothill Shrubland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Mesic Meadow Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Riparian Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Rocky Mountain Subalpine-Montane Riparian Woodland Summer and winter.
- Sierra Nevada Cliff and Canyon Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southern California Coast Ranges Cliff and Canyon Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Juniper Woodland and Savanna Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Montane-Subalpine Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Savanna Summer and winter.
- Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
- Temperate Pacific Freshwater Emergent Marsh Summer and winter.
- Temperate Pacific Intertidal Mudflat Summer and winter.
- Temperate Pacific Montane Wet Meadow Summer and winter.
- Temperate Pacific Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Cliff and Outcrop Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Western Great Plains Foothill and Piedmont Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Western Great Plains Riparian Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Shortgrass Prairie Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Willamette Valley Upland Prairie and Savanna Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Willamette Valley Wet Prairie Summer and winter.
- Wyoming Basins Dwarf Sagebrush Shrubland and Steppe Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
Land cover and other classes (35)
- Acadian Salt Marsh and Estuary Systems Summer and winter.
- Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Barren Land Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Boreal Acidic Peatland Systems Summer and winter.
- Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore 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, only within 500 m of water.
- Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Northwestern Great Plains - Black Hills Ponderosa Pine Woodland and Savanna Summer and winter.
- Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer and winter.
- Quarries, Mines, Gravel Pits and Oil Wells Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Recently Burned Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Recently Chained Pinyon-Juniper Areas Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- South Texas Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
- South Texas Sand Sheet Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Tamaulipan Clay Grassland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
- Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer and winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
- Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Badland Summer and winter, only within 500 m of water.
Seasons in Virginia
- Summer: nests here, in all 133 counties and cities.
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 88
- 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
Forest edges and thickets
Birds 40
- Hoary RedpollCarduelis hornemanni
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- Wilson's WarblerWilsonia pusilla
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- Barn SwallowHirundo rustica
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- Palm WarblerDendroica palmarum
Plants 244
- Bristly BlackberryRubus setosus
- Tall LarkspurDelphinium exaltatum
- Canada PlumPrunus nigra
- ChokecherryPrunus virginiana var. virginiana
- Fire CherryPrunus pensylvanica
- Silky DogwoodSwida obliqua
- Giant SunflowerHelianthus giganteus
- Gray DogwoodSwida racemosa
- Southern DewberryRubus trivialis
- Buffalo CloverTrifolium reflexum
- Cutleaf GoldenrodSolidago arguta
- Hairy GoldenrodSolidago hispida var. hispida
Granite and other acidic rock outcrops
Birds 20
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
- Loggerhead ShrikeLanius ludovicianus
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
- White-winged CrossbillLoxia leucoptera
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Chuck-will's-widowCaprimulgus carolinensis
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- 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 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
- 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)



























































