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Bird

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

A summer resident that nests in West Virginia. Found in all 55 counties, across 14 habitats.

Here
Summer
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
14

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Summer
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
14
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 14

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

1 of 14

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.

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; Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

SummerWinterCentral Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

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

Mountain balds

Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.

SummerWinterSouthern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier; Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier

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.

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

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

Spruce-fir forests

Cool, evergreen forests of red spruce and Fraser fir on the highest mountains.

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
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 (82)
  • 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 Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest 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 and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland 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.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland 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 and winter.
  • 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 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-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.
  • Florida Dry Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub 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.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer and winter.
  • Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Summer and winter.
  • 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.
  • Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland 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 Florida Pine Rockland Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
  • Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock 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 Glade and Barrens 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.
  • Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer and winter.
  • 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 Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie 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 Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie 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 Summer and winter.
Northeast (5)
  • Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens 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 and winter.
Land cover and other classes (44)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Medium 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 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 Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland 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 - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and 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.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed 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 - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine 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 Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in West Virginia

  • Summer: nests here, in all 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 218

Plant genera in its diet records (24)
  • Polygonum Seeds. 5 diet records. 4 native plants in West Virginia
  • Setaria Seeds. 5 diet records. 1 native plant in West Virginia
  • Deschampsia Seeds. 4 diet records. 2 native plants in West Virginia
  • Digitaria Seeds. 4 diet records. 2 native plants in West Virginia
  • Panicum Seeds. 4 diet records. 11 native plants in West Virginia
  • Sorghastrum Seeds. 4 diet records. 1 native plant in West Virginia
  • Acalypha Seeds. 3 diet records. 3 native plants in West Virginia
  • Avena Seeds. 3 diet records. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Poa Seeds. 3 diet records. 8 native plants in West Virginia
  • Agropyron Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Danthonia Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in West Virginia
  • Iva Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Oxalis Seeds. 2 diet records. 5 native plants in West Virginia
  • Rumex Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in West Virginia
  • Amaranthus Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in West Virginia
  • Calandrinia Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Carex Seeds. 1 diet record. 161 native plants in West Virginia
  • Centaurea Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Chloris Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Claytonia Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in West Virginia
  • Erodium Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Phleum Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Solanum Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in West Virginia
  • Stellaria Seeds. 1 diet record. 6 native plants in West Virginia

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

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.

Chipping Sparrow uses many habitats in West Virginia; these are its 3 most characteristic.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 97

Plants 905

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in West Virginia

Dry forests and woodlands

Birds 89

Plants 192

All of dry forests and woodlands in West Virginia

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 104

Plants 303

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in West Virginia

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources