Allen’s Hummingbird
Allen’s Hummingbird
Location: Found on the West Coast, between Southern Oregon and Northern California, usually between the months of January and September.
Description: Males have a green back and crown, red throat, white breast and tail. Females are green with red flecks on the throat and a white breast.
Favorite Flowers: Columbine, hedge nettle, monkey flower, tree tobacco, California fuchsia, penstemon, paintbrush, morning glory, madrone, lupine, agave, eucalyptus, honeysuckle, sage
Habitats: Brushlands, woodlands, canyons, gardens, parks, mountain meadows.
Additional Info: Outer tail feathers of males vibrate in display.
Anna’s Hummingbird
Anna’s Hummingbird
Location: California, Arizona, occasionally found in Pacific Northwest, often found in urban areas.
Description: Males have green back with red throat and crown. Females are green with a small patch of red on throat. Both sexes have light gray and green undersides.
Favorite Flowers: Chinese lantern, fuchsia, honeysuckle, lantana, eucalyptus, bottlebrush, red-hot poker, citrus, monkey flower.
Habitats: Canyons, woodlands, gardens, mountains
Additional Info: Males have incredibly steep diving skills. Anna’s Hummingbirds occasionally starve to death when bees or wasps become impaled on their bills.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Description: Males have a green back and crown, with a red throat and white underside. Females are green above, and sometimes have small dark spots on their throat, which is usually white.
Location: Eastern U.S. and Canada, south across Great Plains into eastern Texas.
Favorite Flowers: Bee balm, trumpet creeper, coral bells, columbine, morning glory, honeysuckle
Habitat: Woodlands, meadows, streamsides, parks, gardens
Additional Info: The ruby-throated hummingbird is one of the best-known hummingbirds in North America. It is the only hummingbird that’s found in the eastern United States
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Blue-throated Hummingbird
Description: Plumage is dull compared to other hummingbirds. Males have a green back and crown, with a blue throat and gray underside. Females have a green back and crown, with a gray throat and gray underside. Both sexes have long black tails with white spots in the corner.
Location: Southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and western Texas
Favorite Flowers: Gila, sage, penstemon, agave, columbine, lobelia, honey-suckle, California fuchsia.
Habitat: Streamsides of mountain canyons and valleys, gardens.
Additional Info: The Blue-throated hummingbird is the largest hummingbird that breeds in North America. It is approximately three times larger than the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and beats its wings at about half the rate of most smaller hummingbirds, approximately 23 times per second.
Rufous Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Description: The Rufous Hummingbird is known for its striking colors. Males are a brownish orange with a green crown, while females are green.
Location: Most of the western U.S., northward through British Columbia to southeastern Alaska, occasionally along the Gulf Coast and in Oregon and Idaho.
Favorite Flowers: Madrone, gilia, skyrocket, lungwort, honeysuckle, columbine, agave, paintbrush
Habitat: Woodlands, meadows, mountains, lowlands, chaparral, stream-sides, parks, gardens.
Additional Info: Rufous Hummingbirds have a reputation for extremely fast flying and extraordinary maneuverability. They are tough birds and often intimidate other species of hummingbirds.
Other Hummingbird Species
Want more information about different hummingbirds? Check out our bird guide selection. Want to attract hummingbirds to your yard? Check out our hummingbird feeder page.
