Sep 04, 2026
Hummingbirds in Nevada: The Complete Guide to All 9 Species
Nevada packs real hummingbird diversity into a state most people think of as empty desert: two year-round residents, three genuine mountain and desert breeders, a real fall-and-winter migrant, and three documented rarities — one of them Nevada's only confirmed sighting ever of the common eastern backyard bird.
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All 9 species, one page
This page covers every hummingbird confirmed in Nevada, 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 Nevada species guideOne page · PDF · free to print and share
All 9 documented Nevada hummingbird species, grouped by tier — cross-checked against the Nevada Bird Records Committee's (NBRC) official checklist and Review List.
Nevada's Year-Round Residents
Two species live in southern Nevada every month of the year — a genuinely different picture from the rest of the state, where every species is seasonal.
Anna's Hummingbird Resident
The U.S. Forest Service's own land manager's guide for the Nevada/Utah region states plainly: "Anna's and Costa's Hummingbird can be found year-round in the far southern parts of Nevada." This is a real but regional pattern, concentrated around Clark County and Las Vegas rather than spread evenly statewide — and NBRC doesn't require documentation for Anna's anywhere in Nevada, a direct committee statement that it's genuinely expected, and by a wide margin the hummingbird Nevadans see most often.
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.
Costa's Hummingbird Resident
The same USFS guide confirms Costa's alongside Anna's as a genuine year-round presence in the low desert of far southern Nevada. Like Anna's, it isn't a documentation-required review species anywhere in the state — a familiar desert-garden bird for anyone living in that corner of Nevada.
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.
Nevada's Breeders
Three more species nest in Nevada in real numbers, from riparian lowlands up to high mountain meadows — none of them documentation-required review species.
Black-chinned Hummingbird Breeds Here
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service places Nevada within this species' breeding range, most abundant in riparian habitat. NBRC's Review List doesn't flag it — a genuine, common Nevada breeder, second only to Anna's in how often it turns up on checklists statewide.
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 Breeds Here
A genuine high-elevation breeder in Nevada's mountain ranges, including Great Basin National Park and the Ruby Mountains, favoring subalpine meadows and shrubby habitat near forest. Not on NBRC's review list — a real, if higher-elevation, presence rather than a stray.
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 Breeds Here
The Western Hummingbird Partnership names Nevada directly within Calliope's expanding core breeding range, alongside Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah — not on NBRC's review list, confirming a genuine, regular Nevada breeder.
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.
A Little Throne for Your Season Regulars
Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, and Calliope all nest here in real numbers, from riparian lowlands to high mountain meadows. A stable perch gives a holding bird somewhere to watch from besides the feeder port itself, all season long.
Shop Charm Redwood Swing →Nevada's Fall Migrant
Rufous Hummingbird Migrant/Winter
The USFS NV/UT guide is specific: Rufous uses Nevada habitat "to fuel their journey" northward — migration fueling, not breeding. NBRC's Review List doesn't flag it, confirming it as a genuine, regularly occurring species rather than a rarity.
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 is famously aggressive at a feeder and will chase off anything else in the yard, regardless of size. A second station spread across the yard gives your residents and breeders room of their own instead of one bird claiming the whole supply.
Shop AspenPerch Feeder →Nevada's Recurring Rarity
Broad-billed Hummingbird Rare / Casual Visitor
NBRC's own report on the species is direct: a "fall and winter visitor to Nevada," with only 2 of 13 total endorsed records falling outside September through February. Four records came from a single recent report cycle alone — Nye and Clark County sightings in October 2023, December 2023, and January 2024 — a real, recurring seasonal pattern, still genuinely scarce enough to require documentation.
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
Broad-billed is genuinely recurring here, not a one-time fluke — real electrolytes beyond plain sugar water give a documented rarity a reason to linger instead of just passing through.
Shop Nectarlyte® Powder →If You're Lucky: Nevada's Historic Rarities
Two more species have each been endorsed exactly once by the Nevada Bird Records Committee — real, documented occurrences with nothing recurring.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
Nevada's only accepted record: a hatch-year female captured, banded, and released by a local bander in Mesquite, Clark County, in September 2014. NBRC's most recent report, covering 2021–2024, contains no additional Ruby-throated entry — the total remains exactly 1.
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.
Rivoli's Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
Nevada's only endorsed record: Jarbidge, Elko County, June 1986, photographed and later formally endorsed as a pre-committee record. Two separate NBRC report cycles nearly 40 years apart — the 2015 report and the most recent 2021–2024 report — confirm no second record has ever been endorsed.
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.
Give Every Visitor a Reason to Stay
Whether it's a year-round Anna's or a genuine one-off like Rivoli's, real nectar sources give any visitor, common or rare, more reason to stick around your yard.
Shop Wildflower Seed →Nevada Hummingbirds at a Glance
The chart below shows Nevada's six species with a real, measurable statewide presence — Anna's and Black-chinned lead, with Costa's holding real ground of its own and Broad-tailed, Calliope, and Rufous trailing behind. Broad-billed, Ruby-throated, and Rivoli's are all too thin to chart reliably and aren't shown.
| Species | Nevada Records | Best Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Anna's | Year-round resident, far southern Nevada | Year-round, Clark County/Las Vegas area |
| Black-chinned | Genuine breeder, riparian habitat | Spring through fall, statewide |
| Costa's | Year-round resident, southern desert | Year-round, southern Nevada desert |
| Broad-tailed | Genuine high-elevation breeder | Summer, mountain ranges |
| Calliope | Genuine breeder, part of expanding core range | Late spring through summer |
| Rufous | Regular fall migrant, fueling stopover | Late summer through fall, statewide |
| Broad-billed | 13 endorsed records, fall/winter pattern | Not expected — but genuinely recurring |
| Ruby-throated | 1 accepted record (2014), Nevada's only | Not expected — genuine one-off |
| Rivoli's | 1 endorsed record (1986), Nevada's only | Not expected — genuine one-off |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many species of hummingbirds are in Nevada?
Nine species have been documented in Nevada. Anna's and Costa's are year-round residents in the southern desert, Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, and Calliope breed here in real numbers, Rufous is a regular fall migrant, Broad-billed is a genuinely recurring rarity, and Ruby-throated and Rivoli's are each historic one-offs.
Are there hummingbirds in Nevada year-round?
Yes, but only in the far southern part of the state — the U.S. Forest Service confirms Anna's and Costa's Hummingbirds are present year-round in far southern Nevada, concentrated around Clark County and Las Vegas.
Has a Ruby-throated Hummingbird ever been seen in Nevada?
Yes, exactly once — a banded female in Mesquite, Clark County, in September 2014. It remains Nevada's only accepted record of the species that's common across most of the eastern United States.
What is Nevada's most-documented rare hummingbird?
Broad-billed Hummingbird, with 13 endorsed records and a clear recurring fall-and-winter pattern — genuinely scarce enough to require documentation, but not a one-off.
For feeder setup, nectar ratios, and native plants that support these species, head back to our how-to-attract-hummingbirds-in-Nevada guide. For region-by-region arrival and departure windows, see the Nevada 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 Nevada, that answer includes real desert-and-mountain diversity most people wouldn't expect, plus a species most Americans consider common that's shown up here exactly once. 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 Nevada 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: Anna's, Black-chinned, Costa's, Broad-tailed, Calliope, and Rufous. Because Nevada genuinely has this many species with real, differentiated statewide presence, we built an actual frequency chart rather than skipping straight to the table. Broad-billed, Ruby-throated, and Rivoli's all measured too thin to chart reliably; we cross-checked all three directly against the Nevada Bird Records Committee's official Review List and its published Annual Reports rather than relying on eBird frequency alone, which is where their exact endorsed-record counts, dates, and locations came from.
Sources
- Nevada Bird Records Committee (NBRC), Review List. Source for which species require documentation.
- NBRC, Nevada State Checklist. Source for all 9 species on this page.
- NBRC Report for 2021-2024, Western Birds 56:154-175. Source for Broad-billed Hummingbird's endorsed-record count and pattern.
- NBRC Report for 2015, Western Birds 47:274-290. Source for Ruby-throated's and Rivoli's's endorsed records.
- U.S. Forest Service, Maintaining and Improving Habitat for Hummingbirds in Nevada and Utah. Source for Anna's, Costa's, and Rufous's status.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hummingbirds of North America. Source for Black-chinned's breeding range.
- Western Hummingbird Partnership, Calliope Hummingbird. Source for Calliope's Nevada breeding range.
- eBird bar chart data, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Nevada statewide.
Know before they arrive
You don't have to keep this calendar taped to the fridge. Insider Birding Access members get seasonal notes timed to your region — when to have feeders out, what the birds are doing right now, and what's worth doing in your yard this season. We take the guesswork out of the calendar. Joining takes about thirty seconds, and there's 10% off your first order in it.
Join Insider Birding Access →Free to join. 10% off your first order.
Shop Nevada'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.
