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Bird

Song Sparrow

Melospiza melodia

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 18 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
18

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
18
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Virginia 18

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

1 of 18

Coastal dunes and beaches

Core Banks dunes, June 2013
SummerWinterAtlantic 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.

Forest edges and thickets

Wooded scene looking out over partially open fields
SummerWinterDisturbed/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.

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense low pocosin
SummerWinterAtlantic 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.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond
SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural LakeshoreRegional / representative. Shown: Southern coastal pond margins, Florida and Louisiana to North Carolina; state not identified, a neighboring state.Yellow butterwort beside a moss-hung coastal pond, Marian Ellis Rowan, 1901. Public domain. Source record.

Salt and brackish marshes

Fort Fisher brackish marsh and woodland edge
SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt MarshBrackish marsh at a woodland edge. Shown: Fort Fisher, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Fort Fisher brackish marsh and woodland edge, ncwetlands.org, undated. CC0 1.0. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Watauga Falls
SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-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.

Swamps

View, Dismal Swamp, North Carolina
SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp; 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.

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.

Winter

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.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore

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.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

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

WinterSouthern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

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

Freshwater tidal marshes

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

SummerWinterAtlantic 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.

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

Maritime forests and thickets

Salt-pruned forests and shrub thickets behind coastal dunes.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest

Mountain bogs and fens

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

Winter

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

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.

SummerWinterDeciduous Plantation; Managed Tree Plantation
Other habitats in its models (96)

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

  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
  • Southwestern Great Plains Canyon Summer and winter.
  • Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Winter.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Winter.
  • Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Winter.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Winter.
  • Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Winter.
  • Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Winter.
  • Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Winter.
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Summer and winter.
  • Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland 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 - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
  • Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh 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 Nupea Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
  • South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • South Florida Mangrove Swamp Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Winter.
  • South Florida Bayhead Swamp Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Winter.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Winter.
  • Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Winter.
  • South Florida Cypress Dome Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Winter.
  • Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Winter.
  • South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Inter-Mountain Basins Greasewood Flat Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Winter.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Winter.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Winter.
  • Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Virginia

  • Year-round: nests here, in all 133 counties and cities.

Also found in this habitat

Plants 722

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

Wildlife 260

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