Sep 02, 2026
Hummingbirds in Arkansas: The Complete Guide to All 11 Species
Arkansas's Black-chinned Hummingbird has been documented so many times — 13 accepted records, mostly clustered near Little Rock — that the state's own bird records committee no longer treats it as a review species at all. That's a genuinely active rare-bird community: eleven documented species, one dependable breeder, two real winter regulars, and eight rarities ranging from a recurring Little Rock pattern to true once-in-a-lifetime records.
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All 11 species, one page
This page covers every hummingbird confirmed in Arkansas, rarities included. The printable species guide is the practical companion — every species, its status, and how many records it has on file, sorted by how likely you are to actually see it.
Download the Arkansas species guideOne page · PDF · free to print and share
All 11 documented Arkansas hummingbird species, grouped by tier — cross-checked against the Arkansas Bird Records Committee's official Review List and peer-reviewed record papers.
The Hummingbird You're Most Likely to See
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Breeds Here
Arkansas Game & Fish Commission is direct: "It is the only hummingbird species that nests in Arkansas and is most often seen in the state from April through October." Northern Arkansas ranks among the species' highest-density breeding areas regionally, alongside Tennessee and southern Missouri — from spring through fall, this is the hummingbird filling Arkansas feeders.
Quick ID: Adult males show a brilliant iridescent ruby-red throat that can look flat black until light hits it directly, paired with an emerald-green back. Females and immatures lack the red throat, showing a plain whitish throat and a rounded, white-tipped tail instead.
A Little Throne for Your Ruby-throated
Ruby-throateds are fiercely territorial around a feeder they've claimed — and that gets tested every year once migrants start passing through. A perch nearby gives your bird a vantage point to watch its territory and rest between chases, without giving up the feeder to a newcomer.
Shop Charm Redwood Swing →Arkansas's Regular Migrant and Winter Visitors
Two species show up in Arkansas reliably enough that the state's own bird records committee deliberately excludes them from its review list — a direct statement that both occur regularly, not as rarities.
Rufous Hummingbird Migrant/Winter
Deliberately absent from Arkansas's Review List while nearly every other western hummingbird on this page requires documentation — a direct committee statement that Rufous occurs regularly. Real winter and early-spring clusters show up consistently in the data.
Adult males are unmistakable — fiery coppery-orange overall with an iridescent orange-red throat — and famously aggressive, chasing off other hummingbirds regardless of size difference. Females and immatures are trickier: green-backed above, with rufous-washed flanks and a rusty patch at the base of the tail.
Quick ID: Adult males are almost entirely coppery-orange with a glowing orange-red throat, and the only largely rufous-backed hummingbird in North America; females and immatures are green-backed with rufous-washed flanks.
Anna's Hummingbird Migrant/Winter
Its absence from Arkansas's under-10-record Review List independently confirms more than 10 accepted records statewide. One documented case shows real winter site fidelity in action: a female present in Vilonia, Faulkner County, for several weeks starting January 30, 2021 — then another Anna's reported at the same address on the very same calendar date, January 30, the following year. Almost certainly one returning bird, not two separate occurrences.
Quick ID: The only North American hummingbird with a fully colored crown as well as throat — males glow rose-pink from head to throat. Females show a central patch of rose-red spotting on an otherwise plain throat, with a stocky, broad-tailed build.
An Extra Feeder for Your Winter Visitor
By the time Rufous and Anna's arrive, your Ruby-throated has usually moved on for the season — but a second feeder set up in a different spot means a returning winter visitor isn't stuck competing for the same territory your breeding birds held all summer.
Shop AspenPerch® Feeder →Arkansas's Recurring Rarities
Four species turn up across enough separate years and documented individuals that "rare" doesn't mean "once." Genuine recurring patterns, backed by a peer-reviewed record paper from the Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science.
Black-chinned Hummingbird Rare / Casual Visitor
Arkansas's most-documented rarity by a wide margin: 13 accepted records, mostly concentrated near Little Rock and along U.S. Highway 167. So well-established that it has actually exceeded the Bird Records Committee's own review threshold and is no longer tracked as a review species at all — genuine recurrence, not a fluke.
Quick ID: Adult males show a velvety black throat with a thin band of iridescent purple visible only at the right angle — otherwise it reads as solid black. Females are essentially identical to female Ruby-throated except for longer wings that reach nearly to the tail tip.
Broad-billed Hummingbird Rare / Casual Visitor
Seven accepted records spanning 2005 to 2025, with the state's own bird alliance newsletter explicitly calling a March 2025 Bonnerdale bird the "seventh recorded" — genuine, continuing recurrence right up to the present, not a species that faded out years ago.
Quick ID: A vivid red bill tipped in black is diagnostic on both sexes; adult males add a shimmering blue throat and rich green body. Females are golden-green above and gray below, with a white line behind the eye.
Mexican Violetear Rare / Casual Visitor
Seven accepted records spanning 1984 to 2022, the most recent a bird photographed at feeders near Eureka Springs in July 2022 — a real recurring pattern stretching nearly four decades, with activity continuing into the recent past rather than fading into history.
Quick ID: Both sexes look essentially alike — an all-green hummingbird with a glittering violet patch across the ear coverts and upper chest, and a blackish band crossing the blue-green tail.
Broad-tailed Hummingbird Rare / Casual Visitor
Five accepted records spanning 1996 to 2021, each one individually documented and banded. Fourteen years after the fourth record, a bird photographed in Wynne in December 2020 was seen by many observers through January 2021 — real recurrence with a long gap, but not gone for good.
Quick ID: Adult males have a rose-magenta throat and produce a distinctive high metallic trill with their wings in flight, audible before the bird is visible. Females closely resemble female Rufous but lack the extensive rufous wash on the flanks.
Make Your Sanctuary Worth a Detour
Plain sugar water is fine for the regulars — but Nectarlyte® Powder adds electrolytes and calcium beyond basic sugar water, the kind of setup that keeps a documented rarity lingering instead of just passing through.
Shop Nectarlyte® Powder →If You're Lucky: Arkansas's Historic Rarities
Four more species have been formally accepted by Arkansas's Bird Records Committee — real, documented occurrences, but without the ongoing recurring pattern the species above show.
Calliope Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
A real cluster of about six records between 1999 and 2010 — including one bird that likely returned across two consecutive winters near Ferndale — but nothing accepted since 2010, a 15-to-16-year gap as of 2026. A genuine past pattern that has since gone quiet, not a currently recurring one.
Quick ID: North America's smallest breeding hummingbird, with a hunched posture and short tail. Males have a unique streaked, ray-like magenta throat unlike any other species' solid gorget. Females are tiny even by hummingbird standards, with a peachy wash across the underparts and fine green stippling on the throat.
Allen's Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
Arkansas's only accepted record: an adult male photographed in Bryant, Saline County, in March 2019. Nothing recorded before or since.
Quick ID: Adult males show a coppery tail, eye patch, and belly against a bronze-green back, with a deep reddish-orange gorget. Females and immatures are extremely difficult to separate from female Rufous without a bird in hand.
Rivoli's Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
Arkansas's only accepted record: an adult male photographed near Arkadelphia, Clark County, in July 1993. Nothing recorded since.
Quick ID: One of the largest North American hummingbirds. Adult males show a black-looking body that flashes an iridescent violet crown and emerald-green throat at the right angle. Females are large, dull grayish-green birds with a pale eyebrow stripe and a white spot behind the eye.
Buff-bellied Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
Arkansas's only accepted record: an immature bird present at a Searcy, White County feeder from November 1992 through March 1993 — a long stay, but a single documented individual with nothing recorded since.
Quick ID: A striking red bill tipped in black is the giveaway on both sexes; an iridescent blue-green throat, buff-colored belly, and a rufous tail that flashes chestnut in flight round out the picture.
Give Every Visitor a Reason to Stay
A feeder brings hummingbirds in — real, native nectar is what keeps them coming back. Perfect Little Sanctuary® Wildflower Seed packs 12 nectar-rich varieties into one packet, giving every hummingbird that visits Arkansas, common or rare, a real reason to stick around.
Shop Wildflower Seed →Arkansas Hummingbirds at a Glance
Ruby-throated's dominance here isn't a close call — statewide eBird frequency peaks near 36.9%, and every other confirmed species stays well under 1% at true statewide scale. With a gap this wide, a bar chart wouldn't show anything the table below doesn't already say plainly, so this section skips straight to the table.
| Species | Arkansas Records | Best Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby-throated | Only breeder; nearly every sighting | April through October, statewide |
| Rufous | Regular visitor, deliberately excluded from the review list | Fall and winter, statewide |
| Anna's | 10+ accepted records; documented returning-bird site fidelity | Winter, especially central Arkansas |
| Black-chinned | 13 accepted records, concentrated near Little Rock | Not expected — but genuinely recurring |
| Broad-billed | 7 accepted records, 2005 to 2025 | Not expected — but genuinely recurring |
| Mexican Violetear | 7 accepted records, 1984 to 2022 | Not expected — but genuinely recurring |
| Broad-tailed | 5 accepted records, 1996 to 2021 | Not expected — but genuinely recurring |
| Calliope | ~6 records, 1999-2010, none since | Not expected — genuine rarity |
| Allen's | 1 accepted record (2019), Arkansas's only | Not expected — genuine one-off |
| Rivoli's | 1 accepted record (1993), Arkansas's only | Not expected — genuine one-off |
| Buff-bellied | 1 accepted record (1992-93), Arkansas's only | Not expected — genuine one-off |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many species of hummingbirds are in Arkansas?
Eleven species have been documented in Arkansas. Ruby-throated is the only breeder; Rufous and Anna's are regular migrant and winter visitors; Black-chinned, Broad-billed, Mexican Violetear, and Broad-tailed are genuinely recurring rarities; and Calliope, Allen's, Rivoli's, and Buff-bellied are historic one-offs.
What is Arkansas's most common rare hummingbird?
Black-chinned Hummingbird, with 13 accepted records concentrated near Little Rock and along U.S. Highway 167 — so well-documented it has exceeded the state's own review-list threshold and is no longer tracked as a rarity requiring documentation.
Are there hummingbirds in Arkansas in the winter?
Yes — Rufous and Anna's Hummingbirds are both regular winter visitors, with Anna's absence from the state's review list confirming more than 10 accepted records, including documented cases of the same bird returning to the same feeder across consecutive winters.
How do I tell Ruby-throated and Black-chinned Hummingbirds apart?
Adult males are the easy case: Ruby-throated shows a red gorget, Black-chinned shows a black throat with a thin violet-purple band at the base. Females and young are effectively inseparable in the field — wing-to-tail proportions on a perched bird are the most useful mark.
For feeder setup, nectar ratios, and native plants that support these species, head back to our how-to-attract-hummingbirds-in-Arkansas guide. For region-by-region arrival and departure windows, see the Arkansas hummingbird calendar.
Why We Created This
Pop's Birding has been helping hummingbird lovers for three generations. One of the questions our customers ask most often is "What hummingbirds are actually in my state?" — and for Arkansas, that answer is genuinely more active than most: a Black-chinned Hummingbird pattern so well-established it's outgrown the state's own rare-bird review list. We built this page to give a direct, sourced answer, distinguishing genuinely recurring rarities from true once-in-a-lifetime records.
How We Created This
We pulled eBird bar chart data for Arkansas statewide to establish which species show a real, measurable presence at genuine statewide scale — meaning large, representative sample sizes, not a handful of local checklists. Only Ruby-throated cleared a meaningful bar; every other species measured well under 1% at true statewide scale. We cross-checked every rare and historic species directly against the Arkansas Bird Records Committee's official Review List and against Tumlison & Kannan's 2023 peer-reviewed paper in the Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science, which supplied genuine record-level detail — specific dates, banders, and locations — for every rarity on this page. That's how we distinguished species like Black-chinned and Broad-billed, which show real, continuing recurrence, from species like Calliope, which had a real cluster of records but has gone quiet for over a decade.
Sources
- Arkansas Bird Records Committee, Rare Birds of Arkansas Review List. Source for which species require documentation.
- Tumlison, R. & Kannan, R. (2023), "Rare Birds in Arkansas: Historical Observations and New Records," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 77:98-108. Source for accepted-record counts, dates, and locations for Arkansas's rare and historic species.
- Tumlison, R. & Kannan, R. (2023), "New Species of Birds Reported in Arkansas Since 2009," Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 77:91-97. Source for Arkansas's Allen's Hummingbird record.
- Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Source for Ruby-throated's breeding status.
- eBird bar chart data, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Arkansas statewide.
Know before they arrive
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Shop Arkansas's Hummingbird Favorites
Bethany Sloan has served as General Manager of Pop's Birding since 2010, continuing the legacy of her grandfather, William "Pops" Sloan, inventor of the Original Hummingbird Swing. A lifelong hummingbird enthusiast, educator, and independent researcher, she leads the company's educational content, including its 50-State Hummingbird Guide series, Regional Guide, Species Guide and Hummingbird Learning Center. Bethany combines scientific research, regional migration data, and more than 16 years of hands-on experience to create trusted educational resources for bird enthusiasts across North America.
