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Bird

White-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta carolinensis

Lives in West Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 55 counties, across 9 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
9

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
9
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 9

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

1 of 9

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.

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

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

Year-roundCentral 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-roundNortheastern 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.

Year-roundSouthern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest

Shale barrens

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.

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
Other habitats in its models (97)

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 (60)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Mesic Hardwood and Mixed Forest 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 Xeric River Dune Year-round.
  • Central and South Texas Coastal Fringe Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens Year-round.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest 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 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-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Year-round.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Year-round.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods 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.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade 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-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-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Dry Upland Hardwood Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Oak Dome and Hammock Year-round.
  • Southern Crowley's Ridge Mesic Loess Slope Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest Year-round.
  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens 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.
  • 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 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 Small Stream and River Forest Year-round.
Northeast (3)
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Year-round.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Hardwood Forest Year-round.
Midwest (5)
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Year-round.
  • North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Year-round.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Year-round.
Land cover and other classes (29)
  • 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 Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Offsite Hardwood 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.
  • 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 - Offsite Hardwood Modifier 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 - Open Understory 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.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems 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-Hardwood Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Year-round.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea 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 - 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.
  • Tamaulipan Riparian Systems Year-round.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Year-round.
  • The GAP model includes dense pine only near its primary habitat.

All habitats

Seasons in West Virginia

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

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 45

Plant genera in its diet records (5)
  • Crataegus 1 diet record. 23 native plants in West Virginia
  • Helianthus 1 diet record. 13 native plants in West Virginia
  • Triticum 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Vitis 1 diet record. 9 native plants in West Virginia
  • Zea 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

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.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Birds 103

Plants 303

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in West Virginia

Dry forests and woodlands

Birds 88

Plants 192

All of dry forests and woodlands in West Virginia

Streams, rivers and their banks

Birds 99

Plants 232

All of streams, rivers and their banks in West Virginia

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources