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Bird

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

A summer resident that nests in West Virginia. Found in all 55 counties, across 15 habitats.

Here
Summer
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
15

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Summer
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
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 West Virginia 15

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

1 of 15

Forest edges and thickets

Landscape label QS:Lit,"Paesaggio" label QS:Lhu,"Tájkép" label QS:Lca,"Paisatge" label QS:Lde,"Landschaft" label QS:Lpt,"Paisagem" label QS:Lda,"Landskab" label QS:Lsl,"Krajina" label QS:Lja,"風景" label QS:Lsv,"Landskap" label QS:Lpl,"Pejzaż" label QS:Luk,"Пейзаж" label QS:Lnl,"Landschap" label QS:Les,"Paisaje" label QS:Ltr,"Manzara" label QS:Lfi,"Maisema" label QS:Len,"Landscape" label QS:Lfr,"Paysage" label QS:Lmk,"Предел" label QS:Lru,"Пейзаж"
SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub RegenerationPaul Sawyier, Landscape: young trees and shrubs in autumn colour crowding the rocky edge of a Kentucky woodland. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky (Paul Sawyier, Landscape; Johnson Collection), a neighboring state.Landscape label QS:Lit,"Paesaggio" label QS:Lhu,"Tájkép" label QS:Lca,"Paisatge" label QS:Lde,"Landschaft" label QS:Lpt,"Paisagem" label QS:Lda,"Landskab" label QS:Lsl,"Krajina" label QS:Lja,"風景" label QS:Lsv,"Landskap" label QS:Lpl,"Pejzaż" label QS:Luk,"Пейзаж" label QS:Lnl,"Landschap" label QS:Les,"Paisaje" label QS:Ltr,"Manzara" label QS:Lfi,"Maisema" label QS:Len,"Landscape" label QS:Lfr,"Paysage" label QS:Lmk,"Предел" label QS:Lru,"Пейзаж", Paul Sawyier, c. 1890-1917. Public domain. Source record.

Moist forests

Woods Scene
SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest; South-Central Interior Mesophytic ForestHarvey Joiner, Woods Scene: tall beeches in a moist Kentucky woodland, light falling through a closed canopy onto a damp forest floor. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Kentucky beech woods (Harvey Joiner, Louisville painter of Kentucky beech forests; the painting does not name the site), a neighboring state.Woods Scene, Harvey Joiner, c. 1880-1920. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

The Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405
SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Swamp SystemsWilliam McIlvaine, The Chickahominy Swamp (1862): wind-tossed swamp trees standing in dark water under a storm. Shown: Chickahominy Swamp, Virginia, a neighboring state.The Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405, William McIlvaine (1813-1867), 1862. 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.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

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

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest; Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest; Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland

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; Central Interior and Appalachian Floodplain Systems; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; South-Central Interior Large Floodplain

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems

Hemlock forests

Shady, evergreen forests of eastern or Carolina hemlock, often along rocky mountain streams and in gorges.

SummerWinterAppalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest

Moderately dry forests

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

SummerWinterNortheastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest; Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest

Rich cove forests

Sheltered, moist mountain hollows and lower slopes with deep, fertile soil.

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

SummerWinterDisturbed, Non-specific

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.

SummerWinter

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Cumberland Riverscour; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

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; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems
Other habitats in its models (138)

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

Elsewhere in the South (85)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer.
  • Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Summer.
  • South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Hardwood Hammock Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Calcareous Thornscrub Winter, only within 120 m of water.
  • Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Winter, only within 120 m of water.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Winter, only within 120 m of water.
Northeast (9)
  • Acadian-Appalachian Subalpine Woodland and Heath-Krummholz Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Alkaline Conifer-Hardwood Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Northern Hardwoods Forest Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Northern Pine-(Oak) Forest Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Midwest (7)
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer.
Land cover and other classes (37)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • Boreal Acidic Peatland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Swamp Systems Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Laurentian-Acadian Swamp Systems Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Mesquite Upland Scrub Winter, only within 120 m of water.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in West Virginia

  • Summer: nests here, in all 55 counties.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in West 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.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher uses many habitats in West Virginia; these are its 3 most characteristic.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 93

Plants 303

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in West Virginia

Dry forests and woodlands

Birds 78

Plants 192

All of dry forests and woodlands in West Virginia

Streams, rivers and their banks

Birds 89

Plants 232

All of streams, rivers and their banks in West Virginia

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources