Hummingbirds in Maine: The Complete Guide to All 5 Species

Maine's lone Broad-tailed Hummingbird record isn't just a state first — it's the first accepted record for all of New England. One dependable breeder, one near-annual fall visitor, and three genuine rarities, one of them a regional milestone, make up Maine's five confirmed hummingbird species.

All 5 documented Maine hummingbird species, grouped by tier — cross-checked against the Maine Bird Records Committee's (MBRC) official list of Maine birds.

The Hummingbird You're Most Likely to See

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Breeds Here

The Maine Bird Atlas, published by the state's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, confirms this as Maine's only breeding hummingbird. Arrival runs early to mid-May, with males departing in August and most birds gone by mid-to-late September — no real winter population, since nectar and insects simply aren't available in a Maine winter. It's also, without question, the hummingbird filling Maine feeders each summer.

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-throated is Maine's only breeding hummingbird, arriving each May to set up territory for the summer. A dedicated perch gives it a spot to guard that territory from all season long.

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Maine's Near-Annual Fall Visitor

Rufous Hummingbird Migrant/Winter

Maine Audubon puts it plainly: Rufous is "being found almost annually," with most records at feeders from mid-October through November — a real fall migration pattern, not a winter one. MBRC still carries the species on its Review List, requesting documentation for each record (eBird photos accepted), and the most recent published tally puts the count around 15 to 16 accepted records.

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 Rufous Visitor

Rufous shows up in Maine almost every fall, usually right as the last Ruby-throateds are heading out. A second feeder keeps a genuine fall visitor from having to compete for what's already there.

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If You're Lucky: Maine's Historic Rarities

Three more species have been formally accepted by the Maine Bird Records Committee — real, documented occurrences, including one that made regional history.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird Historic / Accidental

Maine's only accepted record is also a genuine regional milestone: a hatch-year bird at a private feeder in Freeport, Cumberland County, from November through December 2022, banded and confirmed by naturalist Scott Weidensaul — the first accepted Broad-tailed Hummingbird record for all of New England, not just Maine. This species' core range is the Rocky Mountain West, the opposite side of the continent. Nothing recorded before or since.

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 Historic / Accidental

Two accepted records: Monhegan Island, Lincoln County, in October 2005, and Blue Hill, Hancock County, in October and November 2008. A real occurrence across two different years, but nothing accepted in the 18 years since, even though the species remains on MBRC's Review List.

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.

Mexican Violetear Historic / Accidental

Maine's only accepted record: a bird at Mount Desert, Hancock County, over two days in August 2007. Nothing recorded before or since.

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.

Give Every Visitor a Reason to Stay

Maine's three historic rarities, from a first-for-New-England Broad-tailed to a one-off Mexican Violetear, prove almost anything can show up when the conditions line up. Real nectar sources give the next one a reason to stay long enough to be seen and confirmed.

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Maine Hummingbirds at a Glance

Ruby-throated's dominance here isn't a close call — statewide eBird frequency peaks near 22.2%, and every other confirmed species stays 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.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many species of hummingbirds are in Maine?

Five species have been documented in Maine. Ruby-throated is the only breeder, Rufous is found almost annually each fall, and Broad-tailed, Calliope, and Mexican Violetear are each genuine rarities with one or two accepted records.

Are there hummingbirds in Maine in the fall?

Yes — Rufous Hummingbird is found almost annually in Maine, mostly at feeders from mid-October through November, according to Maine Audubon. Maine's own bird records committee still requests documentation for each record.

What is the rarest hummingbird ever recorded in Maine?

Broad-tailed Hummingbird, with exactly one accepted Maine record — and that single bird, present at a Freeport feeder from November to December 2022, was also the first accepted Broad-tailed Hummingbird record for all of New England.

For feeder setup, nectar ratios, and native plants that support these species, head back to our how-to-attract-hummingbirds-in-Maine 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 Maine, that answer includes a genuine piece of regional birding history: the state's only Broad-tailed Hummingbird record was also the first ever accepted for New England as a whole. 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 Maine 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; Rufous and the three historic rarities all measured under 1% at true statewide scale, so no frequency chart appears on this page. We cross-checked every rare species directly against the Maine Bird Records Committee's official list of Maine birds rather than relying on eBird frequency alone, which is how we confirmed Rufous's near-annual, Tier-2-verified pattern and closed a completeness gap that had entirely missed Calliope and Mexican Violetear despite both being officially accepted Maine species.

Sources

• Maine Bird Records Committee (MBRC), Official List of Maine Birds. Source for all 5 species on this page.
• MBRC, Review List. Source for which species require documentation.
• Maine Audubon. Source for Rufous Hummingbird's near-annual fall pattern.
• eBird bar chart data, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Maine statewide.