California is where hummingbirds are quietly giving up on migration.

Anna’s Hummingbird lives here all year and does not leave. Costa’s stays put in parts of the south. And Allen’s Hummingbird has split into two populations: one that still flies to Mexico each winter, and one that has stopped bothering and now breeds in Los Angeles gardens twelve months a year. In a state with a Mediterranean climate, mild winters, and gardens that flower in January, the ancient pressure to fly south has eased considerably.

That makes California unusual for hummingbird gardeners. In much of North America the question is when the birds arrive. Here, for several species, the answer is that they never left.

The Year-Round Residents

Anna’s Hummingbird is the species most Californians see, present throughout much of the state in every season. Males show rose-pink across both crown and throat, unique among North American hummingbirds, and they sing a thin scratchy song from exposed perches, often in the depths of winter. They nest early, sometimes beginning in December or January. See our Anna’s Hummingbird guide. (Internal link to the Anna’s page.)

Costa’s Hummingbird occupies the deserts and sage scrub of Southern California, from the Mojave and Colorado Deserts to coastal scrub. Males wear a violet crown and a gorget that flares back along the neck into long points. Costa’s breeds very early, timed to the desert bloom rather than the calendar, and while many move seasonally, some remain in Southern California year-round. See our Costa’s Hummingbird guide. (Internal link to the Costa’s page.)

Allen’s Hummingbird is the California specialty, and its story deserves its own section below.

The Seasonal Visitors

Black-chinned Hummingbird spreads widely across the state in summer, favoring riparian corridors, canyons, and gardens away from the immediate coast. Males have a black throat with a thin violet band that shows only in good light, and both sexes pump their tails while hovering. See our Black-chinned Hummingbird guide. (Internal link to the Black-chinned page.)

Rufous Hummingbird passes through in numbers on migration, heading north up the coast in late winter and spring and returning south through the mountains in late summer. It is aggressive enough to clear a feeder of every other bird. See our Rufous Hummingbird guide. (Internal link to the Rufous page.)

Calliope Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the United States, also passes through on migration and breeds in some mountain areas.

For help sorting them out, see our guide to North American hummingbird species. (Internal link to the identification hub.)

Allen’s Hummingbird: A Species in Two Minds

Allen’s Hummingbird breeds in a narrow coastal strip running from southwestern Oregon down through California, which is a small range for a North American bird. Within it, two subspecies behave completely differently.

The migratory form (Selasphorus sasin sasin) winters in Mexico and returns remarkably early, with some birds leaving their wintering grounds as early as December and arriving on breeding grounds in January, when winter rains bring the first flowers. Males display in swinging pendulum arcs before climbing high and diving, producing a sharp squeal at the bottom, a sound made by the tail feathers rather than the voice.

The resident form (S. s. sedentarius) does not migrate at all. It was originally confined to the Channel Islands off Southern California, then colonized the mainland at the Palos Verdes Peninsula at some point before 1966. Since then it has spread through the urban landscape of the Los Angeles basin. Research published in The Condor in 2017 tracked that expansion using eBird records and found the mainland range had grown from roughly 70 square kilometers in 1970 to around 13,000 square kilometers.

An honest note on its conservation status. You will see Allen’s Hummingbird described as sharply declining, on the basis of Breeding Bird Survey analysis that placed the drop at 83% since 1970 and put the species on a 2016 watchlist. That figure is disputed. The same 2017 research argued it is not credible, partly because the resident subspecies has expanded dramatically over the same period, and suggested that earlier cessation of courtship display could make the birds less detectable to surveys without the population actually falling. This is an unresolved scientific disagreement rather than a settled fact, and worth treating as such.

One practical caution regardless: female and immature Allen’s are close to inseparable from Rufous in the field, and even experienced observers often cannot settle it without a bird in hand.

The California Calendar

Winter. Anna’s is present, singing, and often nesting. Migratory Allen’s begin returning to the coast as early as January. Feeders stay up.

Spring. Rufous move north through the state, Black-chinned spread inland, and the main breeding season gets under way.

Summer. Black-chinned and Anna’s nest widely; mountain areas hold Calliope and other migrants.

Late summer and fall. Rufous return south through the mountains, and migratory Allen’s depart, generally from July and August onward.

Because residents are present all year across much of the state, there is rarely a reason to take a feeder down. The article on the timing covers the general principles.

What to Plant in California

The state’s Mediterranean climate rewards gardeners who plan for year-round bloom, and California natives are well suited to it:

• California fuchsia (Epilobium canum), which flowers late in the season when little else does
• Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) and other native salvias
• Monkeyflower (Diplacus species)
• Manzanita and Ribes species, valuable for their winter and early-spring bloom
• Island snapdragon (Gambelia speciosa), which can flower nearly all year in mild areas
• Toyon and California buckwheat for structure and insect life

The winter and early-spring bloomers matter most, because they feed resident Anna’s, nesting Costa’s, and the earliest returning Allen’s during the months when the rest of the country has no hummingbirds at all. Skip broad-spectrum pesticides so insect prey survives. Our guide to attracting hummingbirds covers the full approach, and the nectar recipe and feeder guide has feeder care. (Internal links to the garden and nectar pillar pages.)

Frequently Asked Questions

What hummingbirds live in California? Anna’s is present year-round across much of the state and is the one most Californians see. Costa’s occupies the southern deserts and scrub, Allen’s the coastal strip, and Black-chinned spreads widely in summer. Rufous and Calliope pass through on migration.

Do hummingbirds stay in California all winter? Yes. Anna’s is a year-round resident, some Costa’s remain in the south, and the resident subspecies of Allen’s stays in the Los Angeles area and on the Channel Islands throughout the year.

Should I keep my feeder up all year in California? In most of the state, yes. With resident species present in every season, there is rarely a reason to take it down.

What is special about Allen’s Hummingbird? It has two subspecies with different strategies: one migrates to Mexico, while the other is non-migratory and has expanded from the Channel Islands across the Los Angeles basin since the 1960s.

How do I tell an Allen’s from a Rufous Hummingbird? For adult males, a solidly rufous back indicates Rufous while substantial green suggests Allen’s. Females and immatures are close to inseparable in the field.

When do Allen’s Hummingbirds return to California? Unusually early. Some leave their Mexican wintering grounds as early as December and reach breeding grounds in January, when winter rains bring the first flowers.

Conclusion

California asks its hummingbird gardeners a different question from the rest of the country. Not when will they come back, but what can I give them in February. A garden with manzanita and currant for winter, salvias through spring and summer, and California fuchsia holding on into autumn supports birds that have, in a real sense, decided to stay. Given that one of them is still spreading across suburban Los Angeles a subspecies at a time, the gardens seem to be part of the reason.