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Bird

Wood Duck

Aix sponsa

Lives in West Virginia all year and nests here. Found in all 55 counties, across 7 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
7

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 55 counties
Habitats
7
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 7

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

1 of 7

Swamps

The Chickahominy Swamp LCCN2004661405
SummerWinterCentral 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.

SummerWinter

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

SummerWinterCentral 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

Freshwater marshes

Open, herb-covered wetlands with fresh, non-tidal water.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh)

Streams, rivers and their banks

Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; Cumberland Riverscour; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

SummerCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems
Other habitats in its models (66)

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 (37)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Summer.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp Summer.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Riparian Forest Summer.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Dune Woodland and Forest Summer.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer, only within 1,000 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Summer.
  • Red River Large Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Flatwoods Summer, only within 1,000 m of water, for banks and other nest sites.
  • South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods Summer.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog Summer.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Hydric Hammock Summer.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Cypress Dome Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Small Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Large River Swamp Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall Summer.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Forest Summer and winter.
Northeast (3)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Summer.
  • Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Basin Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest Summer and winter.
Land cover and other classes (26)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Forested Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Taxodium/Nyssa Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Streamhead Seepage Swamp - Pocosin - and Baygall Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer.
  • Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Tidal Marsh Systems Summer.
  • Lower Mississippi River Bottomland Depressions - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Nupea Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Taxodium Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Large Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Depressional Wetland Systems Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer and winter.

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 156

Plant genera in its diet records (30)
  • Paspalum Seeds. 4 diet records. 5 native plants in West Virginia
  • Polygonum Seeds. 4 diet records. 4 native plants in West Virginia
  • Aneilema Seeds. 3 diet records. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Brasenia Seeds. 3 diet records. 1 native plant in West Virginia
  • Leersia Seeds. 3 diet records. 2 native plants in West Virginia
  • Panicum Seeds. 3 diet records. 11 native plants in West Virginia
  • Potamogeton Leaves. 3 diet records. 18 native plants in West Virginia
  • Vitis Seeds. 3 diet records. 9 native plants in West Virginia
  • Bidens Seeds. 2 diet records. 10 native plants in West Virginia
  • Echinochloa Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in West Virginia
  • Liquidambar Seeds. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in West Virginia
  • Nymphaea Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Quercus Seeds. 2 diet records. 20 native plants in West Virginia
  • Rubus Fruit. 2 diet records. 17 native plants in West Virginia
  • Sagittaria Roots. 2 diet records. 6 native plants in West Virginia
  • Scleria Seeds. 2 diet records. 6 native plants in West Virginia
  • Spirodela Leaves. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in West Virginia
  • Taxodium Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Acer Seeds. 1 diet record. 12 native plants in West Virginia
  • Boehmeria Seeds. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in West Virginia
  • Cephalanthus Seeds. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in West Virginia
  • Forestiera Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Glycine Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Lemna Seeds. 1 diet record. 5 native plants in West Virginia
  • Ludwigia Seeds. 1 diet record. 5 native plants in West Virginia
  • Planera Fruit. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in West Virginia
  • Sassafras Seeds. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in West Virginia
  • Triadenum Seeds. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in West Virginia
  • Ulmus Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in West Virginia
  • Viburnum Seeds. 1 diet record. 10 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 92

Plants 303

All of floodplain and bottomland forests in West Virginia

Streams, rivers and their banks

Birds 88

Plants 232

All of streams, rivers and their banks in West Virginia

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Birds 112

Plants 12

All of disturbed and introduced wetlands in West Virginia

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources