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Bird

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Aegolius acadicus

Lives in West Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 55 counties, across 10 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
10

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
10
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 10

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

1 of 10

Moist forests

Woods Scene
SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove 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
WinterCentral 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.

Winter

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 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.

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

Rich cove forests

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

SummerWinterSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest

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.

WinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian
Other habitats in its models (43)

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 (19)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Maritime Forest Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter.
  • Mississippi River Alluvial Plain Dry-Mesic Loess Slope Forest Winter.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Winter.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest Winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Winter.
Northeast (1)
  • Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Winter.
Midwest (4)
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Winter.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Winter.
Land cover and other classes (19)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Winter.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Winter.
  • 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 Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Winter.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest 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.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Winter.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Winter.

All habitats

Seasons in West Virginia

  • Year-round: nests here, in 10 of 55 counties.
  • Winter: does not nest here, in all 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.

Dry forests and woodlands

Birds 88

Plants 192

All of dry forests and woodlands in West Virginia

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 103

Plants 303

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in West Virginia

Moderately dry forests

Birds 64

Plants 22

All of moderately dry forests in West Virginia

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources