Bird
Pileated Woodpecker
Dryocopus pileatus
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
- Year-round
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.
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.
Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.
Sheltered, moist mountain hollows and lower slopes with deep, fertile soil.
Cool, evergreen forests of red spruce and Fraser fir on the highest mountains.
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.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Other habitats in its models (115)
Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in West Virginia.
- Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Plain Oak-Hickory Upland - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
- Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland Year-round.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
- Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round.
- Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
- North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
- North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
- North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Year-round.
- North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loess Bluff Forest Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round.
- South Florida Hardwood Hammock Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Chenier and Upper Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Year-round.
- South Florida Pine Rockland Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Year-round.
- Ozark-Ouachita Dry Oak Woodland Year-round.
- Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Year-round.
- Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Year-round.
- Southern Piedmont Mesic Forest Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Mesic Hardwood Forest Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Mesic Slope Forest Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
- Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Year-round.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine Modifier Year-round.
- Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Year-round.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
- Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Year-round.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
- Southeastern Interior Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
- Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Forest Year-round.
- Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Sandhill Oak and Shortleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
- Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory 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 - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Year-round.
- Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
- North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Year-round.
- Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Year-round.
- Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Year-round.
- Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Xeric River Dune Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Clethra Modifier Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Year-round.
- Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Year-round.
- South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Year-round.
- Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Year-round.
- South Florida Cypress Dome Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Year-round.
- Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
- Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Year-round.
- Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
- Mississippi River Riparian Forest Year-round.
- Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
- Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
- Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
- Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Year-round.
- Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Year-round.
- South Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
- Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Year-round.
- Central Florida Pine Flatwoods Year-round.
- East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Loblolly-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
- North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Year-round.
- Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Year-round.
- West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Year-round.
- The model allows small openings within a larger forested patch.
Seasons in West Virginia
- Year-round: nests here, in all 55 counties.
Also found in this habitat
Plants 745
Plants named in NatureServe descriptions of these habitats that grow in West Virginia. Shared habitat, not food.
- Red MapleAcer rubrum
- Mountain LaurelKalmia latifolia
- Northern Red OakQuercus rubra
- Sweet BirchBetula lenta
- White OakQuercus alba
- Eastern HemlockTsuga canadensis
- White AshFraxinus americana
- Box HuckleberryGaylussacia brachycera
- SourwoodOxydendrum arboreum
- Eastern White PinePinus strobus
- Christmas FernPolystichum acrostichoides
- Scarlet OakQuercus coccinea
- Chestnut OakQuercus prinus
- Rosebay RhododendronRhododendron maximum
- Sugar MapleAcer saccharum
- Pignut HickoryCarya glabra
- Shagbark HickoryCarya ovata
- Mockernut HickoryCarya tomentosa
- Flowering DogwoodCornus florida
- Round Leaf DogwoodCornus rugosa
- American BeechFagus grandifolia
- American Witch-hazelHamamelis virginiana
- TuliptreeLiriodendron tulipifera
- Striped MapleAcer pensylvanicum
Wildlife 197
Other animals whose habitat models include the same habitats in West Virginia. Not sighting records.
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Black-capped ChickadeePoecile atricapillus
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Common GrackleQuiscalus quiscula
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common RavenCorvus corax
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruffed GrouseBonasa umbellus
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
NatureServe Explorer, CC BY 4.0. USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.
Sources
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS GAP year-round habitat model for Pileated Woodpecker
- 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)

















































