Bird

Red-shouldered Hawk

Buteo lineatus

Names as given by USGS GAP.

Year-round in Virginia, breeding, in the USGS range maps. Its habitat models include 19 habitats found here.

Seasons here: Year-round
Breeding: Breeding
Range: 133 of 133 counties
Habitats: 19

Female Red-shouldered Hawk, whole bird — **Female**. no rights reserved. CC0. iNaturalist photo 186257913. Source-provided large resize; no crop or image edits.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Seasons in Virginia: Year-round
Breeding: Breeding
Counties in known range: 133 of 133
Habitat models: Year-round

Where it lives

Southeast habitat models (USGS, 2001 land cover). The bird is not in every place a habitat occurs. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models Year-round model

Habitats in Virginia 19

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. Shared habitat, not food.

1 of 19

Year-roundAtlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandDune 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.

Year-roundCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsWet pine flatwoods with a shrub layer. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Wet Pine Flatwoods, Shaken Creek Preserve - typical shrub layer, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Year-roundCentral Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and FlatwoodsSandy pine savanna. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Sandy Pine Savanna, Rush Featherling subtype, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin; Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and BaygallDense low pocosin. Shown: Shaken Creek Preserve, Pender and Onslow Counties, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Dense low pocosin, Robert Thornhill, undated. CC BY 4.0. Source record.

Year-roundSouth-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.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier; 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.

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.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

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.

Year-roundAtlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier

Mountain bogs and fens

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

Year-round

Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of waterDisturbed/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.

Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of waterAppalachian 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.

Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of waterSouthern 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.

Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of waterSouthern 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.

Dry forests and woodlands

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

Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of waterCentral Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of waterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of waterDeveloped, Open Space; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration

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-round. Only within 1,000 m of waterDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine

Other habitats in its models (66)

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

Developed, Low Intensity Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
Unconsolidated Shore Year-round
Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
South Florida Hardwood Hammock Year-round
Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Year-round
Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Year-round
South Florida Pine Rockland Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Flatwoods Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
Florida Dry Prairie Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Year-round
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Year-round
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Year-round
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Year-round
Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Year-round
Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Year-round
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Year-round
Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Year-round
South Florida Bayhead Swamp Year-round
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Year-round
Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Year-round
South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Year-round
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Year-round
Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Year-round
South Florida Cypress Dome Year-round
Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Year-round
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round
Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round
Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round
Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Year-round
Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Year-round
Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round
East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
South Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round
Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round. Only within 1,000 m of water
South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Year-round