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Bird

Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

A summer resident that nests in West Virginia. Found in all 55 counties, across 8 habitats.

Here
Summer and on migration
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
8

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Summer and on migration
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
8
Habitat models
Summer

Where it lives

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

Habitats in West Virginia 8

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

1 of 8

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.

Summer

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

SummerCentral 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

Ponds, lakes and their shores

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

SummerOpen Water (Fresh)

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

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

Swamps

Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerOnly within 2,000 m of water.Disturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

SummerOnly within 2,000 m of water.North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus; Southern Interior Acid Cliff

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

SummerOnly within 2,000 m of water.Developed, Open Space; Cultivated Cropland; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Disturbed, Non-specific; Ruderal Upland - Old Field
Other habitats in its models (69)

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

  • Developed, Low Intensity Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune) Summer.
  • Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Southern Piedmont Cliff Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Southern Appalachian Rocky Summit Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Northeastern Interior Pine Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Central Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Southern Blackland Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Southeastern Great Plains Tallgrass Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Summer.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer.
  • Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Summer.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer.
  • Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Summer.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Summer.
  • Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Summer, only within 2,000 m of water.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer.

All habitats

Seasons in West Virginia

  • Migratory: does not nest here, in 17 of 55 counties.
  • Summer: nests here, in all 55 counties.

Also found in this habitat

Plants 547

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

Wildlife 214

Other animals whose habitat models include the same habitats in West Virginia. Not sighting records.

NatureServe Explorer, CC BY 4.0. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources