Hummingbird Identification: Throat, Tail and Range

Range settles more hummingbird identifications than plumage does. Audubon says the Ruby-throated Hummingbird is best identified by range, as the only breeding hummingbird in eastern North America. So a hummingbird at an eastern feeder in summer is almost always a Ruby-throated.

• East, summer: Ruby-throated. Audubon notes that nearly all migrate to Mexico or Central America in fall, and that males move north earlier than females in spring.
• East, late fall and winter: check for a Rufous Hummingbird. Audubon says many now winter regularly in the Gulf Coast states, with strays occurring more widely elsewhere in the East.
• Pacific Coast, all year: Anna's Hummingbird, a permanent resident that Audubon says stays through winter where no other hummingbird is present.
• Interior West: Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, Calliope and Rufous; Costa's in desert scrub; Allen's along the California coast.
• Southeast Arizona and the Mexican border: Broad-billed, Violet-crowned, Lucifer, Rivoli's and Blue-throated Mountain-gem, per Avian Report.
• South Texas: Buff-bellied Hummingbird.

A male's throat patch, the gorget, is the fastest mark, but it only shows its color when light hits it at the right angle. Wikipedia explains that the color comes partly from structures in the feather that split sunlight, so the same throat can look black in shade. Audubon says exactly this about the Ruby-throated and Anna's.

• Ruby-throated: red throat, green back, forked black tail.
• Black-chinned: black chin with a thin purple band below that is hard to see; the white collar under it is easier (Audubon).
• Anna's: rose-red on the throat and the crown, which sets it apart from species with a colored throat only (Audubon).
• Costa's: purple crown and a purple gorget that extends into long points (Avian Report).
• Rufous: bright coppery rufous above with a throat that shines red (Audubon).
• Allen's: also copper-throated and rufous; Wikipedia says the notched shape of one tail feather is the mark used to separate adult male Rufous from adult male Allen's.
• Calliope: a streaked rosy gorget (Avian Report).
• Broad-tailed: rosy-red gorget, and males make a loud sound with their wingtips (Avian Report).
• Broad-billed: blue on the throat and breast, coral-red bill with a dark tip (Avian Report).
• Violet-crowned: pure white underparts, violet crown and a red bill; males and females look alike (Avian Report).

Females and immatures of most species are green above and pale below, so the throat rarely helps. Use these instead.

• Female Ruby-throated: dull grayish-white throat and white tips on the outer tail feathers (Audubon).
• Female Black-chinned: Audubon calls it almost identical to the female Ruby-throated and separates it in the West by the long bill, pale underparts and call notes. Watch the tail: Black-chinned flips and spreads its tail actively while hovering.
• Female Anna's: stockier than Black-chinned or Costa's, dingy gray below, sometimes with a few red spots on the throat, and it holds its tail still while hovering (Audubon).
• Female Rufous and Allen's: green back, spotted throat and orange-buff on the sides and at the base of the tail (Audubon). Wikipedia says females are difficult to tell from Allen's; in most cases the honest answer is 'Rufous or Allen's'.

Tail motion is the one clue a phone video catches well. Film a few seconds at the feeder and watch whether the tail pumps or stays still.

Some 'tiny hummingbirds' are insects. The International Hummingbird Society says these are hummingbird moths of the family Sphingidae, such as the Clearwing Hawk-moth (Hemaris thysbe) and the White-lined Sphinx (Hyles lineata). They fly in daylight, which most moths do not, and hover at flowers to drink nectar.

The Society's test is simple: count the legs. An insect has six, a bird two. The moth also feeds through a long proboscis rather than a bill, and it is smaller than even the smallest hummingbird.

A hummingbird nest is tiny: Wikipedia gives 1.5 to 2.0 inches across for Anna's Hummingbird, built of plant fibers and spider silk and camouflaged with lichen. Audubon says the Ruby-throated lays 2 white eggs, the female incubates for 12 to 14 days, and the young leave the nest at about 20 to 22 days. Wikipedia calls the eggs pea-sized, the smallest of any bird, and says the mother alone feeds the chicks by regurgitation.

If you find a baby out of the nest, the International Hummingbird Society advises:

• Do not assume it is abandoned; watch without a break from a distance for at least 45 to 60 minutes, because the mother may be out feeding.
• Do not give sugar water, honey or water by mouth; the Society warns that improper feeding can be fatal.
• Do not move the nest; nests are federally protected, and keeping a hummingbird is illegal under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
• Call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. The Society keeps a state-by-state directory.

Hybrids do occur. Wikipedia notes that Anna's Hummingbird may hybridize with other species, especially Costa's, and that two birds once described as separate species turned out to be hybrids of Anna's with Allen's and with Black-chinned. A bird that fits no species well may be one of these.

The International Hummingbird Society lists the animals that take hummingbirds:

• Cats: probably the most common predators of hummingbirds away from the nest, in the Society's words.
• Birds: Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Merlins, Mississippi Kites and Loggerhead Shrikes; also Curve-billed Thrashers and Greater Roadrunners.
• At the nest: jays, crows, ravens, snakes and large lizards take eggs and chicks.
• Insects and spiders: praying mantises, spider webs, bees and wasps, and large dragonflies.

The Society recommends hanging feeders at least 4 to 5 feet off the ground where a stalking cat would be visible, keeping pet cats indoors and moving mantises well away. For nectar it gives 4 parts water to 1 part sugar with no red coloring, honey or other sweeteners, changed every two to three days, and more often above 90°F. Audubon also advises against red dye and honey.

Research and drafting for this page were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed below. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it.