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Bird

Tree Swallow

Tachycineta bicolor

Lives in Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 133 counties and cities, across 17 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
17

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 133 counties and cities
Habitats
17
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Virginia 17

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

1 of 17

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain"
SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old FieldLyell Carr, Black Mountain: a pasture and hayfield with a log barn, rail fence and grazing cow below the Black Mountains. Shown: Black Mountain, North Carolina (Lyell E. Carr), a neighboring state.Black Mountainlabel QS:Len,"Black Mountain", Lyell Carr, c. 1890-1912. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70
SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianFrederic Edwin Church, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina (1865-70): a boulder-strewn mountain river under autumn-coloured ridges. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: North Carolina mountains (Frederic Edwin Church, oil sketch 1865-70; Cooper Hewitt), a neighboring state.Drawing, Autumn Landscape in North Carolina, 1865–70, Frederic Edwin Church, 1865-1870. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

The Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405
SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampWilliam McIlvaine, The Chickahominy Swamp (1862): wind-tossed swamp trees standing in dark water under a storm. Chickahominy Swamp, VirginiaThe Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405, William McIlvaine (1813-1867), 1862. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune)

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

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

SummerWinterCentral Appalachian Floodplain - 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; 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

Pocosins and bay forests

Dense evergreen shrub wetlands and bay forests on wet, acid peat of the Coastal Plain.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh); Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

SummerWinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

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.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bald Face from Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, N.C.
SummerOnly within 250 m of water.Cumberland Sandstone Glade and BarrensBald Face above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, North Carolina: a bare granite dome rising above forest and a still lake (photochrom print, about 1902). Shown: Bald Face (Big Bald Face) above Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, Jackson County, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Bald Face from Lake Fairfield, Sapphire, N.C., Detroit Publishing Co. (photochrom print), c. 1902. Public domain. Source record.

Dry forests and woodlands

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

SummerOnly within 250 m of water.Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerOnly within 250 m of water.Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland

Shale barrens

Steep, sun-baked slopes of loose shale with sparse oaks and Virginia pine and their own endemic wildflowers. Linked only where the source names shale barrens; calcareous shale stays with the limestone glades.

SummerOnly within 250 m of water.
Other habitats in its models (101)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Virginia. Those recorded in Virginia first, the rest by region.

In Virginia 1

  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Elsewhere in the South (54)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Winter.
  • Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Winter.
  • Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Florida Dry Prairie Winter.
  • Florida Panhandle Beach Vegetation Winter.
  • Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Winter.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Bayhead Swamp Winter.
  • South Florida Cypress Dome Winter.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Winter.
  • South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Winter.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Winter.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Winter.
  • Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
  • Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Winter.
Northeast (2)
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer.
Midwest (8)
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.
Land cover and other classes (36)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Winter.
  • Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Recently Logged Areas Summer, only within 250 m of water.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Virginia

  • Year-round: nests here, in 53 of 133 counties and cities.
  • Migratory: does not nest here, in 15 of 133 counties and cities.
  • Summer: nests here, in 89 of 133 counties and cities.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 8

Plant genera in its diet records (4)
  • Morella Fruit. 3 diet records. 4 native plants in Virginia
  • Cornus Fruit. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Virginia
  • Juniperus Fruit. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Virginia
  • Parthenocissus Fruit. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Virginia

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

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.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 86

Plants 381

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in Virginia

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 96

Plants 1283

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in Virginia

Swamps

Birds 82

Plants 318

All of swamps in Virginia

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources