Sep 02, 2026
Hummingbirds in California: The Complete Guide to All 14 Species
Most states in this guide have one common hummingbird and a handful of rarities. California is different: four species live here year-round, three more breed here in real numbers, and even its rarest visitor — a species that's the common backyard bird across most of the eastern United States — has shown up 31 separate times since 1975. Real hummingbird diversity, not a single-species state.
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All 14 species, one page
This page covers every hummingbird confirmed in California, 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 California species guideOne page · PDF · free to print and share
All 14 documented California hummingbird species, grouped by tier — cross-checked against the California Bird Records Committee's (CBRC) official state checklist and Annual Reports.
California's Year-Round Residents
Four species live in California every month of the year, not just during a migration window — more resident hummingbird diversity than almost any other state.
Anna's Hummingbird Resident
California Department of Fish and Wildlife's life-history account is direct: Anna's is "mostly a resident year-round in the state." This is the species' genuine historic core range — before its 20th-century range expansion up the Pacific Coast, Anna's nested almost nowhere else, and it's still the hummingbird Californians see on more checklists than any other, by a wide margin.
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.
Allen's Hummingbird Resident
California Department of Fish and Wildlife's life-history account confirms a genuinely split population: the resident subspecies found on the Channel Islands and around Los Angeles is nonmigratory and actively expanding its range in southern California, while the nominate subspecies elsewhere in the state migrates to winter in Mexico — a genuinely common bird along much of the coast.
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.
Costa's Hummingbird Resident
California Department of Fish and Wildlife's life-history account describes it as common in summer and uncommon but present in winter, occupying desert washes, coastal scrub, and chaparral across the state — genuine core year-round range for this species, and a familiar desert-garden visitor across much of southern and central California, not a marginal edge population.
Quick ID: Adult males have an extravagant deep violet crown and throat with elongated gorget feathers flaring out past the cheek. Females are pale gray-green above and whitish below, one of the plainest-looking hummingbirds in North America.
Rufous Hummingbird Resident
CDFW confirms breeding in the Trinity Mountains of Trinity and Humboldt Counties, plus a real, if small, winter presence in southern California. One important caveat: Rufous is nearly inseparable from Allen's in the field except in the hand, so most winter Selasphorus sightings can't be confirmed to species without close study — California's genuine population-level presence most of the year is defensible, but confirmed winter Rufous specifically is rarer than the raw numbers suggest.
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.
A Little Throne for Your Residents
California's year-round residents spend all twelve months defending the same territory. Give Anna's, Allen's, Costa's, or your local Rufous a favorite perch to hold it from.
Shop Charm Redwood Swing →California's Breeders
Three more species nest in California in real numbers without staying year-round — each with its own elevation preference.
Black-chinned Hummingbird Breeds Here
The San Diego County Bird Atlas calls it "a fairly common migrant and summer resident," mainly in riparian and oak woodland habitat — a genuine, widespread California breeder found across the state each summer, not a marginal visitor.
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.
Calliope Hummingbird Breeds Here
The Western Hummingbird Partnership documents Calliope breeding across a huge elevation range in California, from as low as 440 feet in the Columbia River Gorge down to 11,150 feet at timberline in the Sierra Nevada — genuine, confirmed breeding, not vagrancy.
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.
Broad-tailed Hummingbird Breeds Here
This species breeds at the western edge of its Rocky Mountain range, in California's White, Inyo, and Panamint mountain ranges — a genuine, if thin, breeding-edge population rather than a stray visitor, and not flagged with a review asterisk on the CBRC's current official checklist.
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.
California's Winter Visitor
Broad-billed Hummingbird Migrant/Winter
Broad-billed was formerly a CBRC review species requiring documentation, but was removed from the review list once it became clear the species occurs rare-but-regularly — roughly 98 cumulative accepted records by 2016, clustering in fall and winter along the coast of southern California.
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.
An Extra Feeder for Your Broad-billed
When a Broad-billed turns up along the coast this fall or winter, an extra feeder well away from your regulars gives it a station of its own.
Shop AspenPerch Feeder →A Genuine Rarity from the East
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Rare / Casual Visitor
East of the Rockies this is the common backyard hummingbird; in California it's a genuine CBRC committee rarity. The California Bird Records Committee has accepted 31 individuals through its 49th Annual Report, with about 77% of records falling in a tight late-August/early-September window. Every documented record is a different bird in a different year, staying anywhere from one day to a few weeks — a real, repeatable pattern, but never annual and never the same returning individual. First state record: May 1975, Sagehen Creek Field Station, Nevada County.
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.
Make Your Sanctuary Worth a Detour
A wandering Ruby-throated has already flown a long way off course. Real electrolytes and calcium give it a reason to refuel here before moving on.
Shop Nectarlyte® Powder →If You're Lucky: California's Historic Rarities
Five more species have been formally accepted by the California Bird Records Committee — real, documented occurrences, each with a genuine cluster of records followed by a long gap rather than ongoing recurrence.
Violet-crowned Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
Five confirmed accepted records span 1976 to 1999: Santa Paula (Ventura Co., 1976), Bouquet Canyon (Los Angeles Co., 1987), Kenwood (Sonoma Co., 1992), east Carlsbad (San Diego Co., 1996), and Westhaven (Humboldt Co., 1999) — California's fifth record at the time. A real cluster across 23 years, but nothing confirmable in the 27 years since.
Quick ID: Unusual among hummingbirds for looking essentially the same in both sexes — a bold violet-blue crown, clean white underparts, and a red bill tipped in black.
Xantus's Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
A Baja California Peninsula endemic with 2 current accepted California records: a female that attempted to nest twice near Ventura in 1988, and an adult male near Bishop in April 2024 that the CBRC's own 50th Annual Report calls "the second well-supported record" and "the first male and first spring migrant documented north of Mexico." A third, older 1986 sight record was originally accepted but later formally un-accepted by the committee after a re-evaluation found the documentation inconsistent.
Quick ID: A Baja California endemic with a bold white eyestripe and dark ear patch on a mostly rufous body; the reddish, slightly downcurved bill helps separate it from similar species.
Mexican Violetear Historic / Accidental
California's only confirmed accepted record, then classified under the name Green Violet-ear: Mt. Pinos, Kern County, July–August 1977, originally accepted from a sight report by six committee members and unanimously re-endorsed in 2006 after a low-resolution photograph of the bird surfaced. A second 1977 report from Berkeley the same summer was not accepted.
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.
Rivoli's Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
The CBRC's 29th Annual Report documents this species' first identification in California: San Diego, October–November 2003, "the first identified conclusively in California." A second record followed in Eureka, Humboldt County, in 2004. Nothing confirmable 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.
Blue-throated Mountain-gem Historic / Accidental
The CBRC's 40th Annual Report confirms 3 accepted records through 2014, including a Palomar Mountain bird that "furnished only the second record for the state and the first from southern California," and a banded immature male from Portal, Arizona later found injured near San Diego and eventually released back at its Arizona banding site. Nothing confirmable since 2014.
Quick ID: One of the largest North American hummingbirds, with a bold white stripe behind the eye. Adult males show a deep blue throat that can look black without direct light; females lack the blue throat but share the same large size and facial pattern.
Give Every Visitor a Reason to Stay
Whether it's a Violet-crowned or California's next Rivoli's-caliber record, real nectar sources give any visiting rarity a reason to stick around long enough to be documented.
Shop Wildflower Seed →California Hummingbirds at a Glance
The chart below shows California's six species with a real, measurable statewide presence — Anna's leads clearly, but Allen's and Costa's both hold substantial ground of their own, and Black-chinned and Rufous run close behind. Broad-tailed, Broad-billed, Ruby-throated, and the five historic rarities are all too thin to chart reliably and aren't shown.
| Species | California Records | Best Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Anna's | California's most common hummingbird, genuine core range | Year-round, statewide |
| Allen's | Year-round resident, expanding LA-area population | Year-round, coastal and southern CA |
| Costa's | Year-round resident, core desert/coastal range | Year-round, desert and coastal CA |
| Black-chinned | Fairly common breeder, riparian/oak woodland | Spring through fall, statewide |
| Rufous | Confirmed breeder + small statewide winter tail | Spring/summer north; winter south |
| Calliope | Genuine Sierra Nevada breeder, wide elevation range | Late spring through summer, Sierra Nevada |
| Broad-tailed | Thin but real breeding-edge population | Summer, White/Inyo/Panamint ranges |
| Broad-billed | ~98 cumulative records, rare-but-regular | Fall/winter, coastal southern CA |
| Ruby-throated | 31 accepted records, most since 1975 | Not expected — genuine, repeatable rarity |
| Violet-crowned | 5 accepted records, 1976-1999, none since | Not expected — genuine rarity |
| Blue-throated Mountain-gem | 3 accepted records through 2014, none since | Not expected — genuine rarity |
| Xantus's | 2 current accepted records (1988, 2024) | Not expected — genuine rarity |
| Rivoli's | 2 accepted records (2003, 2004), none since | Not expected — genuine rarity |
| Mexican Violetear | 1 accepted record (1977), California's only | Not expected — genuine one-off |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many species of hummingbirds are in California?
Fourteen species have been documented in California. Anna's, Allen's, Costa's, and Rufous are genuine year-round residents; Black-chinned, Calliope, and Broad-tailed breed here in real numbers; Broad-billed is a rare-but-regular fall and winter visitor; Ruby-throated is a genuine repeatable rarity from the east; and Violet-crowned, Xantus's, Mexican Violetear, Rivoli's, and Blue-throated Mountain-gem are each historic rarities.
What is the most common hummingbird in California?
Anna's Hummingbird, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife — described as "mostly a resident year-round in the state," with statewide checklist frequency peaking near 56%.
Are there hummingbirds in California year-round?
Yes — Anna's, Allen's, Costa's, and Rufous are all genuine year-round residents somewhere in the state, though Rufous's winter presence is small and Rufous is difficult to confirm to species apart from Allen's without a close look.
Is Ruby-throated Hummingbird ever seen in California?
Yes, but it's a genuine rarity here despite being the common backyard hummingbird across most of the eastern United States — the California Bird Records Committee has accepted 31 individual records since 1975, with most arriving in a tight window in late August and early September.
For feeder setup, nectar ratios, and native plants that support these species, head back to our how-to-attract-hummingbirds-in-California guide. For region-by-region arrival and departure windows, see the California 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 California, that answer is genuinely more interesting than most: four year-round residents, three more real breeders, and even a species most Americans consider common turning out to be one of the state's most-documented rarities. We built this page to give a direct, sourced answer to all of it.
How We Created This
We pulled eBird bar chart data for California 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. Six species cleared a meaningful bar at true statewide scale: Anna's, Allen's, Costa's, Black-chinned, Rufous, and Calliope. Because California genuinely has this many species with real, differentiated statewide presence, we built an actual frequency chart rather than skipping straight to the table, the way single-breeder states on this site do. Broad-tailed, Broad-billed, Ruby-throated, and the five historic rarities all measured too thin to chart reliably at true statewide scale; we cross-checked all nine directly against the California Bird Records Committee's official state checklist and its published Annual Reports rather than relying on eBird frequency alone, which is where their exact accepted-record counts, dates, and locations came from.
Sources
- California Bird Records Committee (CBRC), Official California Checklist. Source for review-species status for all species on this page.
- CBRC 49th Annual Report, Western Birds 56(4):242-265. Source for Ruby-throated Hummingbird's accepted-record count and pattern.
- Western Field Ornithologists, Rare Birds of California: Xantus's Hummingbird. Source for Xantus's Hummingbird's accepted records.
- San Diego County Bird Atlas, Violet-crowned Hummingbird. Source for Violet-crowned Hummingbird's accepted records.
- CBRC 29th Annual Report, Western Birds 36:78-113. Source for Rivoli's Hummingbird's first California record.
- Western Field Ornithologists, Rare Birds of California, Literature Cited. Source for Mexican Violetear's accepted record.
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Wildlife Habitat Relationships: Anna's Hummingbird. Source for Anna's year-round resident status.
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Wildlife Habitat Relationships: Rufous Hummingbird. Source for Rufous's breeding and winter status.
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Wildlife Habitat Relationships: Allen's Hummingbird. Source for Allen's resident/migratory subspecies split.
- California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Wildlife Habitat Relationships: Costa's Hummingbird. Source for Costa's year-round residency.
- California Bird Records Committee, Official California Checklist. Source for Black-chinned's, Broad-tailed's, Calliope's, and Broad-billed's status.
- eBird bar chart data, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — California statewide.
Know before they arrive
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Shop California'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.
