Bird
Gray Catbird
Dumetella carolinensis
A summer resident that nests in West Virginia. Found in all 55 counties, across 13 habitats.
- Here
- Summer
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 55 counties
- Habitats
- 13

At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Summer
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 55 counties
- Habitats
- 13
- 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 13
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.
Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.
Shady, evergreen forests of eastern or Carolina hemlock, often along rocky mountain streams and in gorges.
Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains.
Sheltered, moist mountain hollows and lower slopes with deep, fertile soil.
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.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Forested wetlands with standing water much of the year, such as cypress and gum swamps.
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.
Other habitats in its models (104)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in West Virginia.
- Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter.
- Developed, Medium Intensity Summer and winter.
- Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer and winter.
- North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer and winter.
- Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
- Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Summer and winter.
- Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Summer and winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
- East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed 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.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Summer and winter.
- Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Summer and winter.
- Tamaulipan Mixed Deciduous Thornscrub Summer and winter.
- North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Summer and winter.
- Recently Burned Shrubland Winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
- Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
- South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer and winter.
- Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
- Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
- Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.
- Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
- Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
- Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer and winter.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
Seasons in West Virginia
- Summer: nests here, in all 55 counties.
Also found in this habitat
Plants 849
Plants named in NatureServe descriptions of these habitats that grow in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food.
- Licorice BedstrawGalium circaezans
- Eastern TeaberryGaultheria procumbens
- Black HuckleberryGaylussacia baccata
- Spotted JewelweedImpatiens capensis
- Canada MayflowerMaianthemum canadense
- American GinsengPanax quinquefolius
- Black OakQuercus velutina
- Little BluestemSchizachyrium scoparium
- American BasswoodTilia americana
- White MonkshoodAconitum reclinatum
- Black CohoshActaea racemosa
- New York FernAmauropelta noveboracensis
- Summer SedgeCarex aestivalis
- Pennsylvania SedgeCarex pensylvanica
- Variable SedgeCarex polymorpha
- Pretty SedgeCarex woodii
- Bitternut HickoryCarya cordiformis
- Allegheny ChinquapinCastanea pumila
- Common Blue CohoshCaulophyllum thalictroides
- Appalachian Small Spreading PogoniaCleistesiopsis bifaria
- Eastern LeatherwoodDirca palustris
- White Wood-asterEurybia divaricata
- Rough HawkweedHieracium scabrum
- Pale JewelweedImpatiens pallida
Wildlife 207
Other animals whose habitat models include the same habitats in West Virginia. Not sighting records.
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Alder FlycatcherEmpidonax alnorum
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Fox SparrowPasserella iliaca
- Least FlycatcherEmpidonax minimus
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
NatureServe Explorer, CC BY 4.0. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Gray Catbird 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)














































