Hummingbirds in California

The range of Allen’s Hummingbid is one of the smallest and restrictive of all North American Hummingbirds. They’re a common summer resident of northern coastal California and southern Oregon and a year-long resident of southern Californa. During migratory season, can be found in Arizona and even New Mexico.

Anna’s Hummingbird is a common resident in California but has extended its range north towards the western coast of Washington and southeast to southern part of Arizona. It’s a rare winterer of western Texas.

The small hummingbird breeds in most the western states, going as far east as eastern Texas. Can be found during the winter in the southern states bordering the Gulf of Mexico.

If you are lucky, you may be able to spot these hummingbirds across the forests of southern states, specifically in the mountain ranges of western Texas, southern New Mexico, and southeastern Arizona. They tend to group up near mountains, too, though it’s not unheard of to see them in backyards across these states. They have been spotted in Colorado (July to August), Louisiana (fall, spring), California (summer), South Carolina (August), North Dakota (June), and Utah (August) during their migratory seasons.

The Broad-Bill Hummingbird is a rare resident in shrub thickets and canyons. Most often found in southern Arizona and southwest New Mexico at elevations above 5,000ft. In migratory season, this hummingbird has also been sighted in Texas and California.

The Broad-Tailed Hummingbird breeds from Wyoming and central Idaho down to Mexico. Winters in Mexico and can rarely be found along the Gulf of Mexico states. It prefers mountain forests and woodlands.

The Calliope Hummingbird breeds in the northwestern states starting from northern California. During the winters, it can be found in the states along the Gulf of Mexico. During migration season, they can be found following both the Rocky Mountain and Pacific ranges.

The Costa’s hummingbird breeds in scrub habitats and thrives in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts. It’s a resident in southern California and southwestern Arizona but during the breeding season can be found in northern California and east to central Arizona.

The green violet ear is a born wanderer, with more than 30 different records indicating visitations to eastern Texas in the past 60 years. However, it’s also been spotted traveling from Mexico and Central America as far and as wide as Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

Rivoli’s hummingbirds breed primarily in the mountain ranges of western Texas, southeastern Arizona, and south-central New Mexico. The males are highly nomadic and banded birds have traveled hundreds of miles in a season. Sightings of this species can be seen in Colorado (May to October), Alabama (September to February), Arkansas (July), California (April), Georgia (winter), Minnesota (July), Nevada (June), Utah (July), Wyoming (June to July).

The Rufous Hummingbird breeds from the southeastern tip of Alaska down to the northern most parts of California, going as far east as Montana. During the winter, it migrates down to the Gulf of Mexico states.

The Violet-Crowned Hummingbird breeds in southeastern Arizona and usually retreats south to Mexico in the winter.

Bizarrely, the Xanthus’s hummingbird is rarely seen outside of its native Baja. Only one Xanthus’s hummingbird made it to British Columbia – a female, in 1998. No birds of this species have been seen there since, and no one’s too sure why it traveled so far! A further bird of the species also made its way to Ventura, CA – where it failed to breed. It’s extraordinarily rare to see this bird act vagrant outside of its home zone.