Hummingbirds in Kansas: The Complete Guide to All 11 Species

Kansas's own bird records committee draws a real line down the state: three western hummingbirds require documentation everywhere in Kansas except a specific exemption zone in the state's far southwest and west, where they're accepted without review. That's not a fluke of reporting — it's a genuine, mapped regional pattern. One dominant statewide breeder, three western-corner specialties, one established statewide visitor, and six documented rarities round out Kansas's eleven species.

All 11 documented Kansas hummingbird species, grouped by tier — cross-checked against the Kansas Bird Records Committee's (KBRC) official Review List and the Kansas Ornithological Society's state checklist.

The Hummingbird You're Most Likely to See

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Breeds Here

The Kansas Breeding Bird Atlas documents confirmed nesting records across the eastern two-thirds of the state, within the species' normal Great Plains breeding range east of roughly the 100th meridian. Arrival runs early to mid-April, nesting June into early July, with southbound migration late July through early October and no winter population — it's this predictable rhythm, more than anything else, that makes Ruby-throated the hummingbird most Kansans will ever see at a feeder.

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

Kansas's dominant statewide breeder holds nesting territory across the eastern two-thirds of the state all summer. A stable perch gives it somewhere to watch from besides your feeder port — a place to hold territory before migration and the season's rarities start filtering through each fall.

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Kansas's Western Corner: A Different Kind of Common

Three western hummingbirds are review species requiring documentation across most of Kansas — except in a specific exemption zone in the far west and southwest, where the state's own records committee has determined they're regular enough not to need it. Real eBird data backs this up directly: all three show sharp seasonal peaks in Morton and Finney Counties, in the far-southwest corner bordering Colorado and Oklahoma, well above their thin statewide averages.

Black-chinned Hummingbird Breeds Here

KBRC's current Review List exempts Black-chinned from documentation specifically in southwest Kansas — and the 2024 KBRC Report confirms a breeding-season record in Russell County that same year. Real eBird data shows a genuine breeding-season peak of 8.97% in Morton County, in Kansas's far-southwest corner, against a thin 0.2% statewide average: a real, localized breeding population, part of the documented Great Plains eastward range-expansion pattern, not a statewide presence.

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-tailed Hummingbird Migrant/Winter

KBRC exempts Broad-tailed from documentation west of I-135/US-81 — the exact same line the committee draws for Calliope. Real eBird data confirms it: peaks of 2.17% in Morton County and 3.28% in Finney County (Garden City), both in far-western Kansas, against a thin 0.23% statewide average.

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.

Calliope Hummingbird Migrant/Winter

The same west-of-I-135/US-81 exemption zone applies to Calliope. Real eBird data shows peaks of 2.17% in Morton County and 4.92% in Finney County, again both far above the thin 0.32% statewide average — the identical regional pattern as its two western-corner neighbors.

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.

Kansas's Established Statewide Visitor

Rufous Hummingbird Migrant/Winter

Unlike every other western hummingbird in Kansas, Rufous is absent from KBRC's Review List entirely — a fully accepted, established species requiring no documentation anywhere in the state. KBRC calls it an "uncommon transient," documented late July through late fall across both eastern and western counties, not limited to the far-west exemption zone the other three western species share.

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.

An Extra Feeder for Your Winter Visitors

Broad-tailed and Calliope hold on in the far west while Rufous pushes through statewide into fall — and Rufous is famously aggressive at a feeder, chasing off anything else in the yard regardless of size. A second station spread across the yard gives these late-season visitors, and any lingering Ruby-throated, room of their own instead of one bird claiming the whole supply.

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Kansas's Recurring Rarities

Anna's Hummingbird Rare / Casual Visitor

Kansas's most-documented hummingbird rarity: 17 accepted records, most recently in 2025, including a second-year male present at a feeder in Oskaloosa, Jefferson County, from mid-November 2023 through mid-January 2024, and an immature male in Garden City, Finney County, in October 2022. Genuine, continuing recurrence — the record count has grown steadily rather than trailing off.

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.

Broad-billed Hummingbird Rare / Casual Visitor

Five accepted records, most recently in 2022 — a real, if infrequent, recurring pattern with genuinely recent activity rather than a species that's gone quiet for decades.

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.

Make Your Sanctuary Worth a Detour

Anna's and Broad-billed are both genuinely recurring here, not one-time flukes — real electrolytes beyond plain sugar water give a documented rarity a reason to linger instead of just passing through.

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If You're Lucky: Kansas's Historic Rarities

Four more species have been formally accepted by the Kansas Bird Records Committee — real, documented occurrences, but each one has gone quiet for two decades or more.

Mexican Violetear Historic / Accidental

Two accepted records, most recently in 2022 — KBRC's summary table confirms the total and most recent year, though the exact date of the first record and the gap between the two isn't independently published there.

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

Two accepted records, most recently in 2004 — more than 20 years dormant, with no eBird activity in the current data window at all, consistent with both records predating it.

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.

Costa's Hummingbird Historic / Accidental

Three accepted records, most recently in 2005 — more than 20 years dormant despite exceeding the usual two-record Historic/Accidental threshold. A dated pattern, not a currently recurring one.

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.

Allen's Hummingbird Historic / Accidental

Kansas's only accepted record: a single occurrence in 1992, over 30 years ago. The clearest possible Historic/Accidental case — one isolated record, nothing 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.

Give Every Visitor a Reason to Stay

Whether it's your resident Ruby-throated or a genuine one-off like Costa's or Allen's, real nectar sources give any visitor, common or rare, more reason to stick around your yard.

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Kansas Hummingbirds at a Glance

Ruby-throated's dominance here isn't a close call — statewide eBird frequency peaks near 23.9%, and every other confirmed species stays under 1% at true statewide scale, even the western-corner specialties that run much higher locally. 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many species of hummingbirds are in Kansas?

Eleven species have been documented in Kansas. Ruby-throated is the dominant statewide breeder; Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, and Calliope are western-corner specialties exempt from documentation in a mapped far-western zone; Rufous is fully established statewide; Anna's and Broad-billed are genuinely recurring rarities; and Mexican Violetear, Rivoli's, Costa's, and Allen's are each historic rarities.

Why do some hummingbirds not need documentation in western Kansas?

The Kansas Bird Records Committee has determined that Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, and Calliope Hummingbirds occur regularly enough in a specific far-western zone — west of I-135/US-81, with Black-chinned's exemption centered on the southwest corner — that documentation isn't required there, even though all three remain review species requiring proof everywhere else in the state. Real eBird data backs this up directly, with sharp local peaks in Morton and Finney Counties.

What is Kansas's most-documented rare hummingbird?

Anna's Hummingbird, with 17 accepted records through 2025 — a genuine, continuing pattern that has grown steadily rather than trailing off.

Is Rufous Hummingbird common in Kansas?

It's the only western hummingbird in Kansas that requires no documentation anywhere in the state — Kansas's bird records committee calls it an "uncommon transient," present from late July through late fall across both eastern and western counties.

For feeder setup, nectar ratios, and native plants that support these species, head back to our how-to-attract-hummingbirds-in-Kansas guide.

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 Kansas, that answer genuinely depends on where in the state you live. We built this page to give a direct, sourced answer, including the real east-west split the state's own records committee has mapped for three of its western hummingbirds.

How We Created This

We pulled eBird bar chart data for Kansas 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 statewide; every other species measured well under 1% at that scale. But rather than stop there, we also checked regional data for Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, and Calliope specifically in the far-western counties where the Kansas Bird Records Committee's own documentation-exemption zones apply — and found the same real, elevated local presence the committee's own review-list exemptions describe. We cross-checked every rare and historic species directly against KBRC's official Review List and the Kansas Ornithological Society's state checklist, which is how we confirmed Rufous's fully-established statewide status and closed a completeness gap in our own prior tracking that had entirely missed Rivoli's, Costa's, and Allen's Hummingbirds despite all three being officially accepted Kansas species.

Sources

• Kansas Bird Records Committee (KBRC), Review List of Kansas Birds. Source for review-species status, exemption zones, and accepted-record counts for all species on this page.
• Kansas Ornithological Society (KOS), Checklist of Kansas Birds. Source for Ruby-throated's and Rufous's established, non-review status.
• 2024 KBRC Report. Source for Black-chinned Hummingbird's 2024 breeding-season record.
• 2022 KBRC Report. Source for Anna's and Broad-billed Hummingbirds' record details.
• Kansas Ornithological Society, Kansas Breeding Bird Atlas county breeding-record maps. Source for Ruby-throated's confirmed breeding range.
• eBird bar chart data, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Kansas statewide.