Bird
Bobolink
Dolichonyx oryzivorus
A summer resident that nests in West Virginia. Found in all 55 counties, across 3 habitats.
- Here
- Summer and on migration
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 55 counties
- Habitats
- 3

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Summer and on migration
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 55 counties
- Habitats
- 3
- Habitat models
- Summer
Where it lives
The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.
Habitats in West Virginia 3
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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.
Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Other habitats in its models (6)
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 (1)
- Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer.
Midwest (1)
- Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer.
Land cover and other classes (4)
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Summer.
- Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer.
- Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer.
- Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer.
Seasons in West Virginia
- Migratory: does not nest here, in 51 of 55 counties.
- Summer: nests here, in 16 of 55 counties.
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 26
- Common RagweedAmbrosia artemisiifolia
- Giant RagweedAmbrosia trifida
- Rough American Barnyard GrassEchinochloa muricata var. muricata
- American Barnyard-grassEchinochloa muricata
- Coast Cockspur-grassEchinochloa walteri
- Panicum gattingeriPanicum gattingeri
- Redtop Panic GrassPanicum rigidulum var. rigidulum
- Stalked PanicgrassPanicum rigidulum subsp. elongatum
- Beaked PanicgrassPanicum anceps
- Fall PanicgrassPanicum dichotomiflorum
- Old-witch PanicgrassPanicum capillare
- Panicum virgatum var. virgatumPanicum virgatum var. virgatum
- Philadelphia Panic GrassPanicum philadelphicum
- Redtop PanicgrassPanicum rigidulum
- SwitchgrassPanicum virgatum
- Wiry PanicgrassPanicum flexile
- Thin CrowngrassPaspalum setaceum
- Field PaspalumPaspalum laeve
- Hairy Seed PaspalumPaspalum pubiflorum var. glabrum
- Hairyseed CrowngrassPaspalum pubiflorum
- Horsetail CrowngrassPaspalum fluitans
- Bushy KnotweedPolygonum ramosissimum subsp. prolificum
- Erect KnotweedPolygonum erectum
- Pleatleaf KnotweedPolygonum tenue
Plant genera in its diet records (8)
- Ambrosia 2 diet records. 2 native plants in West Virginia
- Echinochloa 2 diet records. 3 native plants in West Virginia
- Oryza 2 diet records. 0 native plants in West Virginia
- Panicum 2 diet records. 11 native plants in West Virginia
- Paspalum 2 diet records. 5 native plants in West Virginia
- Polygonum 2 diet records. 4 native plants in West Virginia
- Setaria 2 diet records. 1 native plant in West Virginia
- Urochloa 2 diet records. 0 native plants in West Virginia
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.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Birds 96
- Cape May WarblerDendroica tigrina
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Upland SandpiperBartramia longicauda
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- DunlinCalidris alpina
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- Hoary RedpollCarduelis hornemanni
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- Purple MartinProgne subis
- Ring-necked PheasantPhasianus colchicus
Plants 905
- Pussy WillowSalix discolor
- Crooked-stem AsterSymphyotrichum prenanthoides
- Long Stalk AsterSymphyotrichum dumosum var. dumosum
- Canada LettuceLactuca canadensis
- Annual FleabaneErigeron annuus
- Bushy KnotweedPolygonum ramosissimum subsp. prolificum
- Carey's KnotweedPersicaria careyi
- Carolina Crane's-billGeranium carolinianum
- Common Evening-primroseOenothera biennis
- Cutleaf Evening-primroseOenothera laciniata
- Northern Evening-primroseOenothera parviflora
- Oakes Evening PrimroseOenothera oakesiana
All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in West Virginia
Disturbed and introduced wetlands
Birds 120
- Northern WaterthrushSeiurus noveboracensis
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- American BitternBotaurus lentiginosus
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Bonaparte's GullChroicocephalus philadelphia
- Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- DickcisselSpiza americana
- DunlinCalidris alpina
- Greater ScaupAythya marila
- King RailRallus elegans
Plants 12
- Slender FimbryFimbristylis autumnalis
- Blue MistflowerConoclinium coelestinum
- False DaisyEclipta prostrata
- Intermediate Spike RushEleocharis intermedia
- Blunt Spike RushEleocharis obtusa
- Bristly SedgeCarex comosa
- Sensitive FernOnoclea sensibilis
- Heart Leaf WillowSalix eriocephala
- Cuscuta gronovii var. gronoviiCuscuta gronovii var. gronovii
- European Gray WillowSalix cinerea
- Ricefield FlatsedgeCyperus iria
- White WillowSalix alba
Mountain balds
Birds 34
- Grasshopper SparrowAmmodramus savannarum
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- Golden EagleAquila chrysaetos
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Snowy OwlBubo scandiacus
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Prairie WarblerDendroica discolor
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
Plants 65
- Mountain Highbush BlueberryVaccinium simulatum
- Mountain AndromedaPieris floribunda
- Atlantic GoldenrodSolidago arguta var. caroliniana
- Smooth BlackberryRubus canadensis
- Southern Mountain CranberryVaccinium erythrocarpum
- Catawba RhododendronRhododendron catawbiense
- Northern Roughleaf GoldenrodSolidago patula
- Cumberland AzaleaRhododendron cumberlandense
- Flame AzaleaRhododendron calendulaceum
- Pale SedgeCarex pallescens
- Heller's Blazing-starLiatris helleri
- Filmy AngelicaAngelica triquinata
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP summer habitat model for Bobolink Elevation 18 m to 2,500 m. Avoids forest interior
- 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)
- Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab) (CC0 1.0), diet records by plant genus



































































