Somewhere between 300 and 360 species of hummingbird live in the Americas, but you do not need to know all of them to identify the one hovering at your feeder. North of Mexico the list is far shorter and very learnable. Around fourteen species occur regularly in the United States and Canada, with roughly two dozen more recorded as rare strays. This guide shows you how to tell them apart, then walks through the species you are most likely to meet, so you can put a name to your visitor with confidence.

How to Identify a Hummingbird

Hummingbirds are small, fast, and often seen for only a second or two, so identification is less about catching every detail and more about narrowing the field quickly. Four clues do most of the work.

Start with where and when you are. This is the single most powerful filter. Most North American hummingbirds are strongly regional, and many overlap with only one or two others. In the entire eastern half of the continent, for example, there is essentially just one common species, so an eastern feeder bird is almost always the same one. Knowing your region and the season narrows two dozen possibilities down to a handful before you have looked at the bird at all.

Look at the male’s gorget. The gorget is the patch of iridescent throat feathers, and on males it is usually the fastest way in. Each species has its own signature: a solid ruby throat, a rose-pink crown and throat, a magenta starburst, a coppery orange, a royal-purple “mustache.” Bear in mind that iridescence depends on the light, so a gorget can look black or dull until the bird turns and it flares into color. The science behind that color-shifting shimmer is its own subject, covered in the article on why hummingbirds are so colourful.

Note size and bill. Most species are within a whisker of the same tiny size, but a few are noticeably large, and a couple have distinctive bills, a bright red bill or a downcurved one, that clinch an identification on their own. For the extremes of the size range, see the comparison article on the world’s smallest and largest hummingbirds.

Accept that females are hard. This is the honest part. Female hummingbirds are drab by design and often cannot be safely identified to species at all, even by experts. When you cannot be sure, fall back on the range and the season, and remember that a female is usually the same species as the males visiting the same feeder.

The Species You’re Most Likely to See

Below are the hummingbirds that occur regularly north of Mexico, grouped by where you will encounter them. Each will eventually have its own detailed guide; for now this is the overview to point you in the right direction.

The one species of the East

• Ruby-throated Hummingbird. The only hummingbird common across the eastern half of the continent, and the only one that breeds through most of that range. Males have a brilliant ruby-red throat over an emerald-green back. If you are east of the Great Plains, this is almost certainly your bird. (Link to the Ruby-throated species article will soon be added to this article.)

The widespread Western species

• Anna’s Hummingbird. One of the most common western hummingbirds, ranging from Baja California up through coastal British Columbia, and increasingly a year-round resident rather than a migrant. Males show a dazzling rose-pink crown and throat. (Link to the Anna’s species guide will soon be added to this article.)
• Rufous Hummingbird. Small, feisty, and unmistakably coppery-orange in the male. It undertakes one of the longest migrations of any hummingbird, breeding as far north as Alaska. (Link to the Rufous species guide will soon be added to this articlee.)
• Black-chinned Hummingbird. Among the most adaptable of all, at home in deserts, mountains, and city parks across the West. The male’s black throat is edged with a thin band of violet that shows only in good light.
• Allen’s Hummingbird. A close lookalike of the Rufous, tied to the coastal scrub and chaparral of California and Oregon. Separating the two is a classic identification challenge.
• Calliope Hummingbird. The smallest bird in the United States, yet a long-distance migrant. The male’s gorget is a distinctive magenta starburst of separate rays.
• Broad-tailed Hummingbird. A bird of high western mountain meadows, and one of the noisiest, thanks to the loud metallic trill the male’s wings produce in flight.
• Costa’s Hummingbird. A desert specialist of the Sonoran and Mojave. The male’s brilliant purple crown and gorget flare out along the sides into a long, pointed “mustache.”

The Southwest borderland specialties

These reach the United States only near the Mexican border, mostly in southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and southern Texas, and are prized sightings for visiting birders.

• Broad-billed Hummingbird. Dark blue-green with a vivid blue throat and a red, black-tipped bill.
• Rivoli’s Hummingbird. A large, dark hummingbird with a green gorget and purple crown, formerly known as the Magnificent Hummingbird before a 2017 split.
• Blue-throated Mountain-gem. The largest hummingbird that breeds in the United States, limited to a few mountain ranges near the border.
• Violet-crowned Hummingbird. Unusual for its clean white underparts and red bill, and for males and females looking alike.
• Buff-bellied Hummingbird. A Gulf Coast bird of southern Texas, with a red bill and coppery tail.
• Lucifer Hummingbird. A specialty of the Big Bend region, told by its distinctly downcurved bill.

Beyond these, a shifting cast of rare visitors such as the White-eared, Berylline, and Green-breasted Mango occasionally stray north, to the delight of birders. It is also worth knowing that six of the regular species, the Costa’s, Calliope, Rufous, Allen’s, Broad-tailed, and Lucifer, are now flagged as Birds of Conservation Concern, a reminder that even familiar species face pressure.

The Great Impostor

One “hummingbird” at your flowers may not be a bird at all. The hummingbird moth, a type of sphinx moth, hovers at blossoms, sips nectar through a long tongue, and even hums, and it is most active at dusk. If your tiny hovering visitor appears at twilight, has antennae, or seems to have a coiled tongue rather than a needle bill, you are watching a moth putting on a remarkable impression of the real thing.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many types of hummingbirds are there in North America? About fourteen species occur regularly in the United States and Canada, with roughly two dozen more recorded as rare strays. Worldwide there are over 300 species, nearly all of them in the Americas.

What is the most common hummingbird? It depends on your region. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the only common species across the entire East, while the West hosts a variety including Anna’s, Rufous, and Black-chinned.

How do I identify a hummingbird at my feeder? Start with your location and the season to narrow the possibilities, then look at the male’s gorget color, along with size and bill shape. Females are often difficult to identify and are usually the same species as the males nearby.

Why can’t I tell female hummingbirds apart? Females are plainly colored for camouflage while nesting, and several species look nearly identical. Even experts often cannot identify a lone female to species, so range and season become the best clues.

Is that a hummingbird or a moth? If it appears at dusk, has antennae, and hovers at flowers, it may be a hummingbird moth, a sphinx moth that closely mimics hummingbird behavior.

Conclusion

Identifying hummingbirds gets easier the moment you stop trying to memorize all of them and start with where you are standing. Your region narrows the field; the male’s gorget usually names the bird, and size, bill, and a little patience handle the rest. Use this article as a guide to place your visitor in the right group, then follow the link to that species for the full portrait.