19 Common Birds in West Virginia (2024)

The Northern Cardinal, together with its distinctive coloration and singing, perhaps seen all yr in West Virginia. Additionally, it’s identified to be the official state chicken of West Virginia.

West Virginia

1. Northern Cardinal

North Cardinal is frequent within the Southeast, however it’s been increasing its territory northward for years, and it now graces winter days a lot additional north as south-eastern Quebec with its magnificence and whistled melody.

Sunflower seed feeders might have helped its northward growth. These birds forage totally on the grass or in low shrubs, with occasional foraging larger in timber. It’s a frequent customer to feeders, through which it prefers sunflower seeds.

Meals

Seeds, bugs, and berries are the commonest. The food plan is pretty numerous. Beetles, actual bugs, crickets, larvae, ants, flies, and quite a lot of different bugs and spiders, centipedes, and snails are among the many creatures it eats.

Vegetable matter makes up the vast majority of the food plan, together with weed and grass seeds, wasted wheat, floral, and quite a lot of fruit and wild fruits. Their main dietary wants are fulfilled by feeding on bugs.

2. Blue Jay

Blue jays are woodland dwellers by nature, however they’re additionally adaptive.

Oak timber, nuts, and seeds make up the vast majority of their meals, though in addition they eat larvae, grasshoppers, and bugs. Acorns are often saved within the nests of blue jays.

Blue jays are discovered over most of jap and central North America, and their vary is steadily increasing in direction of the Northwest. They have an inclination to Forage on the bottom in addition to in timber and vegetation. Seeds or suet entice them. To crack open exhausting nuts or seeds, these birds pound them with a invoice.

3. Track Sparrow

Track Sparrows are normal measurement sparrows with a strong look. The invoice is small and sturdy, and the pinnacle is sort of rounded for a sparrow. The wings are massive, and the tail is prolonged and rounded. Track Sparrows have robust stripes on their white breast.

Habitat

Track sparrows may be discovered totally on the bottom, often digging within the earth to seek out meals. Furthermore, they forage in shallow water and excessive up in bushes and timber once in a while. Fowl feeders positioned close to first rate cowl will entice them.

Meals

These birds eat all kinds of invertebrates in the summertime and fruits and seeds all year long. Larvae, leaf bugs, caterpillars, damselflies, crickets, moths, spiders, and worms are a number of the creatures that they eat.

4. American Crow

The American crow is widespread in the US. Men and women seem like similar on the surface. They’ve lengthy tails and wings and prolonged and stout black beaks with a noticeable bend on the higher invoice that’s straight however has a noticeable curve on the decrease invoice. These birds are large, measuring 15.8–20.9 inches lengthy and 33.5–39.4 inches in wingspan.

Habitat

The optimum habitat for American crows is a mixture of open fields with meals and woodlots with timber for breeding and roosting. Whereas the feminine incubates the eggs, the grownup and nest companions feed her. They usually relocate in late fall or early winter.

Meals

Bugs, beetles, nuts, fruits, carcasses, tiny animals, salmon, and hatchlings from different nests, significantly carrion chicks, are consumed by these crows.

5. Carolina Chickadee

These birds have gray backs, medium-length gray wings, and lengthy, skinny gray tails with white beneath. Excluding a bit black bib, they’ve a white underside and chest, in addition to a white face. The beaks of those birds are quick, thick, and triangular in form.

Size

These little beauties are 3.9 – 4.7 inches lengthy, with wingspans starting from 5.9 to 7.9 inches broad.

Habitat

Carolina Chickadee is claimed to be a customer at chicken feeders in milder areas however does come into residential yards searching for sunflower seeds.

Seeds or Suetsuet are interested in chicken feeders. Bugs, seeds, and berries are the commonest. It possible consumes extra vegetative matter than in the summertime or the winter.

In the summertime, caterpillars make up a big a part of the food plan, however it additionally eats larvae, bugs, beetles, aphids, and quite a lot of different bees and wasps. Nuts, cherries, and small fruits are ingested as properly.

These creatures have the potential to mate for the rest of their lives. The most typical time for pairs to develop is in the course of the winter, they usually keep collectively all through the season.

The nest is in a gap within the tree, which is incessantly an extension of a small pure gap in deadwood or an outdated pecking burrow or nesting field and is often 5-15 ft above the bottom. Each sexes help in excavating or enlarging the within of a pure gap.

6. European Starling

European Starlings have two distinctive feather patterns, one for summer time and one for winter. When the climate is heat, they look like typical Blackbirds from a distance, however up shut, their plumage is a mix of purples and greens which can be extremely lustrous and beautiful.

These species have prolonged, straight yellow payments, which could aid you determine them from afar till you change into accustomed to seeing them. Within the winter, they change to their second coloration scheme, with a forehead plumage that’s enhanced with beautiful white patches.

Meals

These birds have lived close to individuals for many years. Grains, dried oat, and crushed peanuts are favorites of those birds.

7. Frequent Yellowthroat

The Frequent Yellowthroat, generally often known as Geothlypis trichas, is a bit new world warbler from the Parulidae household of birds. They are often seen in massive teams over North America. It appears to have a lime neck, because the title signifies.

The Frequent Yellowthroat has pale yellow to greenish-yellow feathers throughout its physique. A black streak runs first from the snout to the eyelids and in direction of the rear of the pinnacle of the Frequent Yellowthroat chicken. The again of the Typical Yellowthroat chicken is olive-colored.

The chicken’s wings and higher physique are completely coated in a greenish-yellow tint. The Frequent Yellowthroat female and male are a bit higher than one another.. Men and women might readily be distinguished and categorised into two sexes on account of this.

Dimension

The standard physique size of a Frequent Yellowthroat is 11-13 cm, with a wingspan of virtually 15-19 cm.

The standard weight of a Frequent Yellowthroat is round 9-10 g. In pursuit of meals, the chicken scavenges in tree branches and on the bottom.

Meals

Nuts, leafy fruits, berries, and nuts are their important sources of diet. Larvae, spiders, and beetles are among the many tiny bugs that the Frequent Yellowthroat chicken consumes.

8. Tree Swallow

The Tree Swallow additionally known as the Tochilinite multicolor, is a bit North American chicken that’s notable for its wooden chipping conduct.

The Tree Swallow is a beautiful chicken with blue and white feathers. Their plumage is separated into two colours: a glowing blue higher physique and wings and a white stomach and underparts. The chicken’s eyes and tail are each black in coloration.

The female and male have totally different shades, kinds, sizes, and weights. Males have much more gleaming black, blue, and white plumage than feminine Tree Swallows. When it comes to top, mass, and wingspan, females are barely smaller than males. A migratory chicken, the Tree Swallow, migrates from one web site to a different.

Meals

They eat from the chicken tables of their area of keep regularly. Seedlings and nuts, in addition to berries and fruits, are favorites. This chicken additionally feeds on tiny bugs and worms, in addition to insect larvae.

9. Downy Woodpecker

Downy Woodpeckers even have broad white swath over their backs, in addition to prolonged, black wings with separated stripe designs thought up of cylindrically white patches.

They’ve little tails which can be black on high and white on the underside, in addition to a pristine white underbelly and breast. These birds have needle-nose pliers-like payments which can be slender and medium in size. These are the tiniest woodpeckers in North America, reaching 5.5–6.7 inches lengthy and 9.8–11.8 inches in wingspan.

Habitat

These birds want deciduous woodlands, significantly when there may be brush cowl close by, though they might even be seen foraging in fields. When foraging, they prefer to descend from timber straight into the thick grass and eat, which is sort of a sight to look at.

Meals

These birds are sometimes seen in orchards and backyards with very properly feeders, however they might even be present in fruit timber, parklands, and again gardens. The Downy Woodpecker prefers uncooked peanuts and Suet, significantly fruit-blend Suet.

10. Japanese Towhee

These birds have a robust, medium-length, conical black beak and sometimes have crimson eyes. The size of those birds ranges from 6.8 to eight.2 inches, with wingspans starting from 7.9 to 11 inches. Brushes, shrubs, brambles, and thorns are house to Japanese Towhees.

Black backs, tiny black wings, and lengthy black tails distinguish Japanese Towhees. The plumage will include white accents on the wings and tail, though it is going to be scarce. This chicken has a brownish-red breast and underbelly with a white breast and underbelly.

Oil within the coloration of black Sunflowers seeds, White millet, and smashed peanuts might all be used to draw Japanese Towhees to a yard feeder.

11. Cape Could Warbler

This chicken fairly has a mustard face with an olive head and a slender, olive eyeliner that’s underlined by a robust, curved brown line. The payments of those birds are slender, medium-length, black, and straight, with a bit curvature on the highest invoice. Females and kids could have a extra subdued coloring, with yellow-green rumps.

The backs of Cape Could Warblers are olive-grey and yellow, with medium-length wings and small tails. Whereas the rear of this chicken is grey-white with such a touch of yellow, the underside and chest shall be a mixture of wealthy yellows, with some faint white and ‘tiger stripe’ olive streaking all through.

Size & Habitat

These little birds have wingspans of about 7.9 inches and are 4.5 inches in size. These birds prefer to spend all their time in coniferous woods throughout mating season, however they might be discovered nearly all over the place there may be deep cowl within the form of shrubs, undergrowth, excessive grasslands, or shrubs after that.

Meals

The Cape Could Warbler is definitely enticed by grape jelly and real grapes.

12. Hooded Warbler

This chicken’s underside and breast are a vivid yellow, however they’ve a black hood that v’s into the breast. Nevertheless, the middle of their mouth shall be vivid yellow. Their black eyes stand out, and their payments are lengthy, slender, and straight.

The Hooded Warbler is a species of warbler that lives within the backs of hooded warblers are olive inexperienced, with quick olive and gray wings and lengthy gray tails with sure white outer plumes.

Size & Habitat

These little birds are round 5.1 inches lengthy from stem to stern and have wingspans of 6.9 inches extensive on common. Hooded Warblers may be positioned in any woodland with enough shrub cowl. When possible, they like older deciduous timber.

Meals

Though these birds want to eat bugs and infrequently go to feeders, you might typically entice them in by placing little or no Suetsuet on the tree’s bark and dangling a suet feeder, cage, or one other kind close by.

13. Night Grosbeak

The backs of grosbeaks are olive, having a yellow shoulder on their broad, black wings. An enormous white spot can be seen, forming a shield-like look whereas the chicken is resting.

They’ve little black-tailed with sure yellow on the underparts, and this chicken’s underbelly and breast are additionally a ‘soiled’ yellow tint. They’ve brown heads with lighter coloration saturation in direction of the cheeks, blackcaps, and a large yellow stripe throughout every eye on their faces.

The beak of those birds is large, thick, and conical golden ‘aged-ivory.’ Females and kids could have mushy gray tops and paler bottoms, white-patched black wings, and a greenish-yellow collar. The size of those birds ranges from 6.3 to 7.1 inches.

Habitat

These birds like deciduous and coniferous woodlands, normally at larger altitudes, however they might be present in all kinds of habitats and are common guests to yard feeders right now of yr.

Meals

Night Grosbeaks are more likely to persuade; merely put out a number of Black Oil Pumpkin seeds and a few suet, and also you’re able to welcome them as friends.

14. Summer season Tanager

Male Summer season Tanagers have stunning plumage and are simple to see. They’re completely crimson, with medium-length wings and lengthy, bouncy tails. Females and kids have contrasting colours on their faces, with broad and durable pale payments.

They’ll have golden-yellow plumage with a yellowish-green face and extra inexperienced on the rear and wings. The size of those birds is round 6.7 inches from head to tail, and their wingspans are about 12 inches broad.

Habitat & Meals

These birds want extensive woodlands, particularly these with a mixture of deciduous pine and oak timber. Seek for them right here, significantly if there are any native streams or rivers since these birds get pleasure from being close to water. Peanuts oil, cornmeal, and Suet are favorites of those birds.

15. Tufted Titmouse

They’re associated to chickadees, however they’ve a crest as a substitute of a black bib. Tufted Titmice could also be seen year-round in West Virginia. This species, smaller than chickadees however bigger than a mourning dove, is a bit chicken however an enormous titmouse.

The physique is rounded, the tail is lengthy and full, the pinnacle is massive, and the legs are prolonged. Brief and stocky, darkish, compressed. Above, it’s a darkish blue-grey, and beneath, it’s a faint blue-grey.

Habitat

The black feathers round it emphasize the scale of the attention. Lives in parks and deciduous woodlands with a dense cover. Its distribution is growing north and west, with origins within the south-eastern United States.

Yard chicken feeders could also be aiding this species’ northward growth. Bugs and seeds are two of the commonest varieties of bugs. They like black oil seeds and Suetsuet in your feeder or tray feeder.

16. Purple Finch

They’ve medium-length wings and small, notched tails, with reddish pink and brown backs. Each wings are darkish and reddish-pink in coloration, with two skinny white wing bars on every wing. The again is white, however the underside is white with pink streaks and turns into a robust saturation of pinkish-red hue because it will get nearer to the breast.

This chicken’s face is predominantly a pale raspberry coloration. Feminine Purple Finches lack raspberry coloration. Nevertheless, they’ve an olive high with a white breast and underbelly. A darkish, olive line will also be seen working from the beak to the neck.

These birds have sturdy, medium-length conical payments which can be pinkish-yellow, and there’s a little black on the guidelines of it.

Meals

Seeds, blooms, cherries, and bugs are all edible. Within the winter, it eats principally seeds, together with these from timber. It additionally consumes the buds of quite a lot of timber, in addition to berries and tiny fruits.

Through the summer time, it eats invertebrates reminiscent of moths and bugs. Seeds could be the main supply of diet for the younger.

17. American Goldfinch

These birds have sensible yellow backsides and prolonged black wings with two white wing bars and vertical white strains in direction of the lower-center space of the internal wing. They’ve white rumps and quick, notched tails with white patterns on high.

The size of those birds ranges from 4.3 to five.1 inches, with wingspans of seven.6 to eight.7 inches.

Habitat & Meals

These birds like overgrown fields, particularly these which can be vulnerable to flooding, and therefore present glorious feeding alternatives. They are often seen in fields, gardens, and backyards regularly. A mixture of peanut butter and suet cake is liked by these birds.

18. Japanese Bluebird

Japanese Bluebird males have stunning deep blue backs, lengthy blue wings, and quick blue tails. The rear is pure white, however the underside and breast could have an orange-brown border that rises in depth on the chest, continues up into the throat, after which ends horizontally proper past the shoulders.

Except a gray chin, the remainder of the face is blue. They’ve softly curved black or silvery payments. The size of those birds ranges from 6.3 to eight.3 inches, with wingspans starting from 9.8 to 12.6 inches.

Habitat & Meals

These birds like open woodland settings like pastures, hillsides, and bushland. They’re additionally very vulnerable to nesting containers. Suet, chopped apples, and Black Oil Sunflower seeds are favored by these birds.

19. Pink-bellied Woodpecker

These birds have prolonged wings and quick, sturdy tails, they usually exhibit a outstanding Zebra-stripe sample. This chicken’s chest and underside are white with purple streaks, in addition to a attribute purple mark on the stomach.

This chicken’s head is predominantly white, with a purple cap that runs all the way down to the again of the neck and a few streaks of purple across the cheeks. The beaks of those birds are massive, sturdy, and straight black.

The typical size of those birds is 9.4 inches, with wingspans starting from 13 to 16.5 inches. They’re brash birds who prefer to fly about quite a bit and frequent yard feeders.

Meals

Oil within the coloration of black Sunflowers seeds, suet, and grape jelly are amongst their favourite meals.

Ultimate Phrases

Thus West Virginia is house to many helpful species of birds. Chances are you’ll discover them foraging enjoying singing in numerous habitats. Few of them are very witty and clever, identical to American crows, and a few even get pleasure from consuming from feeders’ palms.

FAQ

What’s the state chicken of West Virginia?

Northern Cardinal. It’s the state chicken of West Virginia.

Which birds migrate to West Virginia in winters?

Snow goose, Tundra swan, Learn head, Northern pintail, and so forth

Which is essentially the most generally discovered chicken in West Virginia?

Northern Cardinal is widespread in West Virginia.