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Bird

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

Lives in West Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 55 counties, across 14 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
14

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
14
Habitat models
Year-round

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"
Year-roundDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); 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
Year-roundSouthern 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.

Swamps

The Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405
Year-roundCentral Interior and Appalachian Swamp SystemsWilliam McIlvaine, The Chickahominy Swamp (1862): wind-tossed swamp trees standing in dark water under a storm. Shown: Chickahominy Swamp, Virginia, a neighboring state.The Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405, William McIlvaine (1813-1867), 1862. 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.

Year-round

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

Year-roundSouthern 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.

Year-roundCentral Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Central 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

Hemlock forests

Shady, evergreen forests of eastern or Carolina hemlock, often along rocky mountain streams and in gorges.

Year-roundAppalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

Year-roundSouthern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest

Mountain balds

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

Year-roundSouthern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier

Rich cove forests

Sheltered, moist mountain hollows and lower slopes with deep, fertile soil.

Year-roundSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

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

Year-roundDeveloped, Open Space; Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Spruce-fir forests

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

Year-round

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

Year-roundCentral 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.

Year-roundDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation
Other habitats in its models (172)

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 (103)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Wooded Swamp Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Year-round.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Year-round.
  • Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Year-round.
  • Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Year-round.
  • Florida Dry Prairie Year-round.
  • Florida Peninsula Inland Scrub Year-round.
  • Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Mississippi Delta Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Year-round.
  • Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Year-round.
  • Ouachita Montane Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Year-round.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Year-round.
  • South Florida Bayhead Swamp Year-round.
  • South Florida Cypress Dome Year-round.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Year-round.
  • South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Year-round.
  • South Florida Hardwood Hammock Year-round.
  • South Florida Mangrove Swamp Year-round.
  • South Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
  • South Florida Pine Rockland Year-round.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Year-round.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Southeast Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Year-round.
  • Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Year-round.
  • Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Year-round.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Year-round.
  • Southwest Florida Coastal Strand and Maritime Hammock Year-round.
  • Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Year-round.
  • Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
Northeast (4)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Maritime Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Year-round.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Land cover and other classes (65)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Year-round.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Year-round.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Year-round.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Woodland Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Juniper Modifier Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Year-round.
  • Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Year-round.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
  • Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Swamp Systems Year-round.
  • Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Tidal Marsh Systems Year-round.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Year-round.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Orchards Vineyards and Other High Structure Agriculture Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Forest Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Year-round.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Year-round.
  • Recently Logged Areas Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Year-round.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Year-round.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Year-round.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune) Year-round.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Year-round.

All habitats

Seasons in West Virginia

  • Year-round: nests here, in all 55 counties.

Fruit and seed plants

Plants in genera this bird was recorded eating, from diet studies across North America. Not a record of what it eats in your state.

27 native plants in West Virginia. 2 not suggested for gardens

Native here, not suggested for gardens

Matched by plant genus. Avian Diet Database

Also on these plants

Find natives for your garden

All fruit and seed records in West Virginia

All wildlife of 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.

Northern Cardinal uses many habitats in West Virginia; these are its 3 most characteristic.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 104

Plants 303

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in West Virginia

Dry forests and woodlands

Birds 89

Plants 192

All of dry forests and woodlands in West Virginia

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 97

Plants 905

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in West Virginia

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources