The Cornell Lab Bird Academy › Discussion Groups › The Wonderful World of Hummingbirds › What Makes a Hummingbird a Hummingbird
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Anna's Hummingbirds visit my back garden in Northern California. They are one of three species that I have observed here in San Francisco. The other species are Allen's Hummingbird (a regular summer visitor to the city), and Rufous Hummingbird, who pass through the city during spring migration.
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In my research before moving to Ecuador, I was thrilled to discover that Ecuador has over 130 species of hummingbirds. One of my favorites so far is the Chestnut-breasted Coronet at Tapichalaca Reserve in Southern Ecuador. They were the most aggressive of the 4 species I saw and they put on quite a show at the feeder with aerial acrobatics. However, the Collared Inca was not easily intimidated.
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Wow!!
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Hi to all! We live between the salt marshes of San Francisco Bay and the oak woodlands of the Oakland hills. We have many Anna's hummingbird visitors to our garden; they especially enjoy the flowers of our Chiapas sage and California fuchsia. e
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Last summer we had a Black-chinned Hummingbird build her nest on the end of a live oak branch less than 10 feet from our living room window. Initially we weren't sure what was happening, just noticed hummingbirds lingering around the same spot several days in a row. Then we noticed one was regularly returning to the same branch and building what we thought might be a nest. We observed the entire sequence from courtship behavior (though not realizing it at the time), through nest building, brooding, guarding, feeding and fledging. She laid two eggs. Once we observed a Cooper's hawk fly right up to the nest as we watched from the living room but he quickly left without incident! She had to chase off the Northern Cardinals from time to time. One night there was a ferocious rain storm with strong winds blowing the thin oak branch 4-6' up and down in the pouring rain. She was hunkered down in the nest but it seemed the tumultuous movement would certainly disrupted the nest and/or her and her eggs. Nightfall came and we had to wait till the morning to see that she had weathered the storm and remained nestled in her nest on the eggs! Eventually only one of the eggs hatched but she nurtured the baby until it fledged. It was a magical experience.
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What an incredible experience! Thank you for sharing and for the picture. The resilience of your little female hummingbird is remarkable!
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What an amazing experience your little friend shared with you! Thank you for sharing with us!
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Wow!! Amazing, thanks for sharing!!
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We have Calliope, Black-chinned and Rufus at our feeders at home just north of Spokane, Wa. Sometimes there are as many as 7 or 8 flitting around. The Rufus seems to be the most territorial and aggressive. The male Rufus can dominate the feeders and chase all the rest off. He only seems to hang around for a month or so, the the others are here for much of the spring and summer
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Anna’s Hummingbird travels to central Oregon, arriving when the pine-needle penstemon, with its orange-red tubular flowers, begins to bloom in June.
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Yes, we have several Hummingbirds in my area. They are all very active throughout the day even in the growing extreme temperatures here in AZ.
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In Seattle, we seem to have a lot of Annas in the area. They are totally fearless dive bombers.
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We see Anna's Hummingbirds only in our back yard, where we have a feeder. In 2023 I had a blast photographing a couple of pairs on the feeder and in flight. But 2024 is different. Here in Northern California we experienced several really heavy downpours, thunder and windstorms in the winter of 2023-24. Now we only see one or two males (the picture is one of them. The absence of females is worisome.
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Here in Asheville we've had some very heavy downpours, and have seen less of them since. So I'm deducing that these heavy rains can indeed kill them? I had read they can "hunker down" at the base of large trees, of which we have many, with inches of fallen leaves all around them (our home is essentially on the side of a small mountain in 1.5 ac of pretty much forested land).
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Yes, I have seen hummingbirds. I've seen the Ruby-throated; this is the one I'm most familiar with. However, on trips to Colorado, I've seen Roufus, Broad-tailed, and Black-chinned. I think I saw a Calliope in Washington, somewhere outside of Seattle. I love them!
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I have many many Ruby throated hummingbirds at my Coral honeysuckle and my nectar feeders in Southampton, NY.
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frequent Black-chin Hummingbirds at my feeder; in Costa Rico in a mountain top store saw several species, all sizes, no clue to ID hence this course
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Yes, I often see Allen's Hummingbird hovering around native plants. Occasionally, I see Anna's Hummingbird, although mostly males. It is always a treat to see the female Anna's.
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Wow, that is so special! What kind of hummingbird is this and did you have to earn it's trust over time with feeding?
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@Nicoline I live in Virginia so the only hummer I have seen is Ruby Throated. I set up a camera with motion sensing and it came in to pose. It was a lucky but memorable picture.
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Yes, I live in Central Florida. Starting in the end of March Ruby Throated Humminbirds return to my yard. I have two hummingbird feeders in my garden. I planted flowers specifically to attract them and enjoy watching them dart around drinking from the feeders and flowers. They are amazing to watch and not afraid of me if I'm in the garden near the feeders. They hover watching me as if they are saying hello, then zip to the feeders. We get so much pleasure watching them!!
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I live in northwestern Florida and also enjoy the rubythroated hummers. They appear here in the spring--February and March-- and love the bottle brush trees. They stay here a very short time in the spring but return in September to stay 'til late October or November. One stayed for the entire winter, not sure of the species because it was a female. V
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I have about 14 feeders out and I live near z Bolsa Chica Wetlands in CA. I get many Anna’ , Rufus, Calliope,and I have had a Costa.. I live on the 2nd floor and have a deck facing toward ocean(can’t see water)…I have potted plants but have really enjoyed figuring out the plants they like…they love salvia, some sage and anything with a funnel type flower! I try to keep a journal about when they come and go… I have at least 6 regulars, here all the time but in February and March I had 20/30 hummingbirds each day, especially at evening time..it is spectacular! The last 2 months it has been quiet with regulars but I know they will be back! I enjoyed the course!
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The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the primary species where I live, and I just had them return for this year on May 8. Within a couple of days, I noticed that a male and a female would both feed at either the same feeder or one on each of my two feeders, but another male would fly in and the two males would then engage in an aerial territory fight and chase each other away. For the last couple of days I have only observed one male coming to the feeders, but a female may still be around that I haven't noticed. I'm wondering if feeders in both the front and back yards would help support two male territories. Since they display such aggression, I wonder if resources within sight line of each other are enough to prompt aggression.
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Hi, I have a lot of fighting, having 14 feeders in peak season, does help… I have poles set up about 12 feet apart with 4 feeders on each pole. The male will stack claim to all 4 feeders on a pole. He can’t protect each pole and he perched and guards his area! I also have 3 feeders in front of my sliding kitchen door about 20 ft across from all the other feeders… the birds that stay year round hang out here. it’s hilarious to watch when my beautiful CA Orioles come and make a feeder sway… these birds are big, like a blue bird size but bright yellow… the hummingbirds just fly around them, the big bird is shy! It’s so much fun to watch!
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I have a friend who has two hummingbird feeders for their Ruby-Throated Hummingbird population. She finds that they tend to fight a lot over these feeders! I saw it myself too- they're very fast and beautiful. This course was really helpful in giving us an explanation as to why they do that! Does anyone know what we can do to try and relieve the territoriality of the birds? We just want everyone to get along and be peaceful, but it's understandable why they do what they do. We have two large feeders about 5 feet apart in length, I suggested maybe moving them farther apart by putting one further into the yard. We'll try anything, haha!
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Where I live there are Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds! They are a sight to see, with the male's beautiful red neck and the female's lush green back. Every once in a while one will come zipping up to my window hummingbird feeder and I can watch them drink the nectar. I hope to see one nesting soon! Thank you so much for this course!
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Thank you very much for the course; it is very nice, practical, and useful. I live in central-western Mexico, where there are 24 species of hummingbirds. I want to share a small guide I made with other colleagues about the species in these beautiful places. You can download the guide from the following link: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/http://www.cucsur.udg.mx/sites/default/files/libro_colibries.pdf Another link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/376378074_Guia_Ilustrada_Colibries_del_Centro_Occidente_de_Mexico_Autlan_de_Navarro_Jalisco_Centro_Universitario_de_la_Costa_Sur_Universidad_de_Guadalajara_96_pp_ISBN_978-607-581-067-6#fullTextFileContent
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Thank you! You are so lucky to have so many! Maryann
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I've only seen three or four hummingbirds in my life. They have all been Ruby-throated Hummingbirds but seeing them is still amazing!
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. I saw Ruby Throated Hummingbirds last year for the first time, when visiting my sister in Kentucky. I live in Thailand and we see a lot of sunbirds. They are beautiful but I must say that hummingbirds are very special
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I love how you got such a close up photo! Very beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
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Ruby-throated hummingbirds were a common site in our Connecticut backyard growing up, thanks to my mom's nectar feeders. Now in my late 30s I still find them absolutely dazzling. Their flight abilities alone are fascinating to watch. But I had my most spectacular hummingbird experience in May 2022, visiting Los Angeles for the first time. Our first day there, my girlfriend and I took a walk around the Hollywood reservoir in the late afternoon. The air was positively thick with hummers, buzzing all around in the sunshine, right over our heads, zipping from flower to flower, letting out their little peeps. It was a peak experience, one of those truly ecstatic moments, which only nature can provide.
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Here in southern Oklahoma the annual return of hummingbirds is a big deal to even non-birders. Each spring a large variety of feeders become available to purchase at local stores, even grocery stores! All summer practically every yard has at least one feeder, and first of the season sightings of the little birds are announced on social media. Most are Ruby-throated, and so far, that is the only species I have seen at my feeders. But reports of Black-chinned are becoming more common, so maybe I will see one this summer!
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We only have ruby-throated hummingbirds here in northern Illinois, but I've had great luck attracting them with cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) and bee balm (Monarda fistulosa). I have pots of annual red salvia, cuphea and petunias and they love those too!
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