Hummingbirds and the Law

These tiny birds are shielded by a multi-layered framework of international treaties, federal statutes, and state regulations that carry real penalties for violations.

Are Hummingbirds Protected by Law?

Yes, hummingbirds are among the most legally protected birds in the Americas. Whether you’re a backyard birder, a researcher, or simply curious after finding a hummingbird nest on your property, understanding hummingbird laws matters.

The International Shield: Treaties That Cross Borders

Hummingbird legal protection doesn’t stop at any one country’s border. The United States is party to a network of international agreements that protect hummingbirds across migration routes spanning two continents. Those routes, and the extraordinary journeys along them, are covered in the hummingbird migration article.

Key international protections include:

• Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA) — implements four bilateral treaties with Canada (1916), Mexico (1936), Japan (1972), and Russia (1976)
• CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) — all hummingbird species (family Trochilidae) are listed under Appendix II, requiring export permits for any international trade
• Regional conservation treaties and cross-border habitat protection agreements

Together, these agreements mean hummingbirds are legally protected across much of the Western Hemisphere, not just within U.S. borders.

The Federal Umbrella: What U.S. Law Prohibits

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 is the cornerstone of hummingbird protection in the United States. Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, it makes the following actions illegal without a federal permit:

• Capturing, trapping, or killing a hummingbird
• Possessing a hummingbird, its feathers, eggs, or nest, even if found on the ground
• Selling, purchasing, or bartering hummingbirds or their parts
• Harassing or harming hummingbirds
• Transporting hummingbirds across state or international borders

If you have found a bird in distress, the article on what to do if you find an injured hummingbird explains how to help within the law.

Penalties, and a common misunderstanding. The statutory text of 16 U.S.C. § 707 sets a misdemeanor fine of up to $15,000 and/or six months’ imprisonment, and a felony fine of “not more than $2,000” and/or two years for knowingly taking or selling a bird commercially.

Read bare, those numbers suggest the felony is punished more lightly than the misdemeanor. That is not how it works in practice. The $2,000 figure dates from the original statute and has been superseded by the general federal sentencing provisions, under which felony fines can reach $250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for an organisation. The statutory number is not the operative ceiling, and commercial violations are treated far more seriously than a straightforward misdemeanor.

Courts may also order forfeiture of any equipment used in a commercial violation, including guns, traps, nets, vehicles, and vessels.

The MBTA currently protects roughly 1,093 migratory bird species, hummingbirds among them.

The Permit Puzzle: When Handling Is Legal

Want to study, rehabilitate, or handle hummingbirds legally? It requires navigating a structured permit system administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

Depending on your purpose, you may need federal research permits for scientific banding, blood sampling, or tracking; state-specific licences, since most states layer additional requirements on top of federal ones; wildlife rehabilitation permits to house and treat injured birds; special handling certifications for educational demonstrations; or educational use authorisations for schools and nature centres.

Permits are issued through the USFWS Migratory Bird Permit Program via ePermits. Application fees vary by permit type, and approval is not guaranteed.

State-Level Protections: The Rules Vary by Location

Federal law sets the floor, but individual U.S. states can and do add their own layers of protection, creating a patchwork that varies significantly depending on where you live.

State-level considerations include additional species-specific protections beyond the MBTA, local habitat preservation and land-use rules, state rehabilitation licensing requirements, and construction or development restrictions during nesting season.

Always check your state’s fish and wildlife agency regulations alongside federal law, particularly if you are planning construction, land clearing, or any activity near known hummingbird habitat.

Backyard Feeder Rules: What Every Homeowner Should Know

Good news for backyard birders: maintaining a hummingbird feeder is entirely legal under federal law. That said, responsible feeding carries practical responsibilities, and in a few places local ones too.

Legally, the main thing to check is local ordinances. Some homeowners’ associations and municipalities restrict outdoor wildlife feeding, and while such rules are usually aimed at mammals, some are drafted broadly enough to include birds. Check before installing feeders.

Everything else is best practice rather than law, but it matters for the birds:

• Nectar: plain white sugar and water in a 1:4 ratio. Never honey, artificial sweeteners, or red dye.
• Cleaning: clean feeders regularly, more often in hot weather, to prevent the mould and bacterial growth that sicken birds.
• Placement: position feeders either within about three feet of a window or more than thirty feet away. The middle distance is where collisions turn fatal.
• Commercial nectar: check labels, as some pre-made products contain unnecessary additives.

The nectar recipe and feeder article covers the recipe, cleaning schedule, and placement in detail, and the article on hummingbird diseases explains what an unclean feeder does to a bird.

Research Requirements: The Science Side of the Law

Scientists studying hummingbirds operate within a detailed regulatory framework designed to protect the birds while enabling legitimate research. Federal and state permits govern nearly every aspect of field work.

Regulated activities include handling protocols governing capture methods, holding time, and stress minimisation; blood sampling volume limits; tracking device weight and attachment restrictions to avoid impairing flight; guidelines for photography of birds in hand; and mandatory reporting of banding data to the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory.

Banding data does more than satisfy a regulation. It is the source of nearly everything known about how long individual hummingbirds live, as the article on their lifespans explains.

Wildlife Rehabilitation: Helping Injured Hummingbirds Legally

If you find an injured hummingbird, your instinct to help is admirable, but acting without proper authorisation is a federal offence. Wildlife rehabilitation is a regulated profession with strict legal requirements.

What you should do: contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator or your nearest USFWS office immediately. An injured bird should be transferred to a permitted facility promptly.

What licensed rehabilitators must do: hold valid federal and state permits, meet facility requirements for housing, temperature control and hygiene, follow approved treatment protocols, maintain detailed records of each animal received, treated and released, and comply with federally approved release guidelines.

Attempting to rehabilitate a hummingbird at home without a permit, even with the best intentions, violates the MBTA. It is also, in practical terms, very likely to kill the bird.

Construction Near Hummingbird Habitat: Know Before You Build

Planning construction, landscaping, or land clearing near areas where hummingbirds nest? Federal law may impose restrictions on your timeline and methods.

Key considerations include nesting season restrictions, since disturbing an active nest during breeding season is a federal offence and work may need to be paused; habitat impact assessments for larger developments; buffer zone requirements around active nests; mitigation obligations to offset habitat loss; and ongoing monitoring during and after construction.

If you discover an active hummingbird nest on your property during a project, stop work in that area and contact the USFWS for guidance before proceeding. The article on hummingbird breeding and nests explains what an active nest looks like and when the season runs.

Commercial Restrictions: Photography, Tourism, and Beyond

Commercial activities involving hummingbirds, even indirectly, may be subject to regulation. This includes commercial use of images of captured or handled birds, guided tours involving active research or handling, product labelling for feeders and commercial nectar, and advertising that depicts the capture or possession of hummingbirds.

When in doubt, consult legal counsel familiar with wildlife law before launching any commercial product or service involving hummingbirds.

Canadian Protections: The MBCA and What It Means for Hummingbirds

Canada’s protections are, if anything, older than those in the United States. The Migratory Birds Convention Act (MBCA) was passed in 1917, a year before the U.S. MBTA, making Canada an early pioneer in continental bird protection. The law was significantly modernised in 1994 and further updated through the Migratory Birds Regulations 2022, administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Hummingbirds are explicitly listed among the species protected under the MBCA. The core prohibitions mirror those in the United States: it is illegal to capture, kill, take, injure, or harass a hummingbird, or to damage, destroy, or disturb an active nest. These protections apply across all land tenures in Canada and in ocean waters, and to individuals, corporations, and government bodies alike.

One important distinction from U.S. law: Canada’s MBCA explicitly prohibits incidental take, the unintentional killing or harming of migratory birds as a byproduct of otherwise lawful activities such as construction, forestry, or industrial operations. This applies regardless of intent, and it has driven widespread adoption of nesting season work windows across Canadian industry.

Penalties under the MBCA are substantial. Individuals on summary conviction face fines from $5,000 to $300,000 and/or up to six months’ imprisonment; large corporations face fines from $100,000 to $4,000,000. All fines double for second or subsequent offences. For indictable offences, individuals face fines up to $100,000 and/or up to five years’ imprisonment, and corporations up to $250,000.

Enforcement is carried out by federal Canadian Wildlife Service game officers, working alongside provincial conservation officers and, where necessary, the RCMP.

Beyond the MBCA, the federal Species at Risk Act provides an additional backstop: should any hummingbird species become listed as threatened or endangered in Canada, its habitat protections would apply. At the provincial level, Ontario’s Endangered Species Act and British Columbia’s Wildlife Act, among others, add further protections alongside federal law.

The Future of Hummingbird Law

Legal protections continue to evolve as understanding of conservation challenges deepens. Areas to watch include climate change prompting review of existing treaty frameworks as migration routes and habitat ranges shift; growing recognition of urban greenways as hummingbird corridors; regulations aimed at habitat connectivity between fragmented areas; expanded population monitoring requirements; and strengthened enforcement collaboration between treaty partners, particularly around illegal trade.

The pressures driving that evolution are covered in the article on threats to hummingbirds and how you can help.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to keep a hummingbird feather? Yes, technically. The MBTA prohibits possessing any part of a protected migratory bird, including feathers found on the ground, without a permit.

Can I legally put up a hummingbird feeder? Yes. Feeding hummingbirds is entirely legal under federal law. The only legal question worth checking is whether a local ordinance or HOA rule restricts outdoor wildlife feeding.

What happens if I find a hummingbird nest during construction? Stop work in that area. Disturbing an active nest during breeding season is a federal offence under the MBTA. Contact the USFWS for guidance before proceeding.

Can I look after an injured hummingbird until it recovers? No. Keeping a wild migratory bird without a rehabilitation permit violates the MBTA, and hummingbirds are extremely difficult to care for. Contact a licensed rehabilitator immediately.

What are the actual penalties for harming a hummingbird? A misdemeanor carries a fine of up to $15,000 and/or six months’ imprisonment. Commercial violations are felonies, and while the statute names $2,000, general federal sentencing provisions allow fines up to $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for organisations, plus forfeiture of equipment.

Are hummingbirds protected in Canada too? Yes, under the Migratory Birds Convention Act of 1917, which also explicitly prohibits incidental take, going further than U.S. law in that respect.

Conclusion

The legal framework protecting hummingbirds is among wildlife law’s more comprehensive efforts: four international treaties, a CITES listing covering the entire family, federal statutes on both sides of the border, and a layer of state and provincial rules on top. The next time you watch hummingbirds at your feeder, you are taking part in a carefully regulated activity, one designed to keep these birds around for generations to come.