Bird
Least Flycatcher
Empidonax minimus
A summer resident that nests in West Virginia. Found in all 55 counties, across 13 habitats.
- Here
- Summer and on migration
- Nesting
- Nests here
- Range
- All 55 counties
- Habitats
- 13
At a glance
- Group
- Birds
- Here
- Summer and on migration
- 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.
1 of 13
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.
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.
Sheltered, moist mountain hollows and lower slopes with deep, fertile soil.
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
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.
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 (51)
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 (28)
- Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer.
- Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
- Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Winter.
- South Florida Bayhead Swamp Winter.
- South Florida Cypress Dome Winter.
- South Florida Hardwood Hammock Winter.
- South Florida Mangrove Swamp Winter.
- South Florida Pine Flatwoods Winter.
- South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
- Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer.
- Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer.
- Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Winter.
- Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Summer.
- Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Winter.
Land cover and other classes (23)
- Developed, Low Intensity Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
- Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure Agriculture Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Recently Burned Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Recently Burned Forest Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Recently Burned Shrubland Summer, beside its main habitat.
- Recently Logged Areas Summer, beside its main habitat.
- South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Winter.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Winter.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
- Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer.
- Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer, beside its main habitat.
Seasons in West Virginia
- Migratory: does not nest here, in 52 of 55 counties.
- Summer: nests here, in 14 of 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.
Least Flycatcher uses many habitats in West Virginia; these are its 3 most characteristic.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Birds 93
- Blue-winged TealAnas discors
- CanvasbackAythya valisineria
- Marsh WrenCistothorus palustris
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Snowy OwlBubo scandiacus
- Virginia RailRallus limicola
- GadwallAnas strepera
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Least BitternIxobrychus exilis
Plants 303
- Peach Leaf WillowSalix amygdaloides
- White Panicled Aster; Eastern Lined AsterSymphyotrichum lanceolatum var. latifolium
- Rudbeckia fulgida var. spathulataRudbeckia fulgida var. spathulata
- Shagbark HickoryCarya ovata
- Spreading SedgeCarex laxiculmis
- Blunt Broom SedgeCarex tribuloides
- Mountain SilverbellHalesia carolina
- Smooth Hedge-nettleStachys tenuifolia
- Common Cup-plantSilphium perfoliatum
- Camphor PlucheaPluchea camphorata
- Virginia Cup-plantSilphium perfoliatum var. connatum
- Heartleaf NettleUrtica chamaedryoides
Dry forests and woodlands
Birds 78
- Pine WarblerDendroica pinus
- Red CrossbillLoxia curvirostra
- Northern BobwhiteColinus virginianus
- White-winged CrossbillLoxia leucoptera
- Yellow-throated WarblerDendroica dominica
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Red-breasted NuthatchSitta canadensis
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
Plants 192
- Eastern Winged SumacRhus copallinum var. latifolia
- American ChestnutCastanea dentata
- Godfrey's ThoroughwortEupatorium godfreyanum
- White ThoroughwortEupatorium album
- McCree's MilkpeaGalactia volubilis
- Leavenworth's SedgeCarex leavenworthii
- Southern LoosestrifeLysimachia tonsa
- Carolina LilyLilium michauxii
- Tall BellflowerCampanulastrum americanum
- Perfoliate BellwortUvularia perfoliata
- Green Pyrola, Green-flowered WintergreenPyrola chlorantha
- BeechdropsEpifagus virginiana
Moist forests
Birds 63
- Fish CrowCorvus ossifragus
- Prothonotary WarblerProtonotaria citrea
- Black-throated Green WarblerDendroica virens
- Blackburnian WarblerDendroica fusca
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Blue-headed VireoVireo solitarius
- Louisiana WaterthrushSeiurus motacilla
- Swainson's WarblerLimnothlypis swainsonii
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Black-throated Blue WarblerDendroica caerulescens
- Blue-winged WarblerVermivora pinus
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
Plants 328
- Gorge GoldenrodSolidago faucibus
- Mountain HollyIlex montana
- Smooth Blue AsterSymphyotrichum laeve
- Sugar MapleAcer saccharum var. schneckii
- Sweet Scented Joe Pye WeedEutrochium purpureum var. purpureum
- Vitis cinereaVitis cinerea
- Fewflower Tick-trefoilDesmodium pauciflorum
- Umbrella MagnoliaMagnolia tripetala
- Pointedleaf Tick-trefoilDesmodium glutinosum
- Smooth Carrion-flowerSmilax herbacea
- Early BluegrassPoa cuspidata
- Rich-woods SedgeCarex oligocarpa
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP winter habitat model for Least Flycatcher
- 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)