Aug 04, 2026
Hummingbirds in Idaho: The Complete Guide to All 8 Species
Most states in this guide have one dominant hummingbird and a handful of rarities. Idaho flips that pattern: four species breed here in genuine numbers, a fifth sticks around all winter, and Ruby-throated Hummingbird — the common backyard bird across most of the eastern United States — is one of Idaho's rarest, with just four accepted records and nothing since 2009. Real western breeding diversity, not a single-species state.
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All 8 species, one page
This page covers every hummingbird confirmed in Idaho, 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 Idaho species guideOne page · PDF · free to print and share
All 8 documented Idaho hummingbird species, grouped by tier — cross-checked against the Idaho Bird Records Committee's official checklist and Review Species list.
Idaho's Common Breeders
Four species nest in Idaho in real numbers every summer, each with its own elevation and habitat preference. Together they're what makes Idaho one of the most hummingbird-diverse states outside the desert Southwest.
Black-chinned Hummingbird Breeds Here
The most common hummingbird in Idaho at lower elevations, according to Idaho Department of Fish and Game's own Wildlife Express. It carries a State Conservation Rank of S5B — the "B" a formal breeding-population designation, the "5" meaning secure and common. Statewide checklist activity peaks near 24% in August.
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.
Rufous Hummingbird Breeds Here
Idaho sits squarely inside Rufous's real breeding range, according to both the American Bird Conservancy and the Boreal Songbird Initiative — unlike several neighboring states where the species is only passing through on migration. Statewide activity peaks near 13.2% in August.
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.
Calliope Hummingbird Breeds Here
The Western Hummingbird Partnership names Idaho directly within Calliope's primary breeding range, alongside Montana and Utah. Cornell Lab has documented a Calliope banded in Idaho in 2007 and recaptured in the same state in 2014 — real, returning site fidelity across seven years. Statewide activity peaks near 7.7% in July.
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
Idaho Fish and Game's Wildlife Express states this species is "found mainly across southern Idaho" — a genuine breeding presence, not just a migratory pass-through. Statewide activity peaks near 3.2% in July, concentrated in the higher-elevation habitat this species prefers.
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.
A Little Throne for Your Breeders
Idaho's four breeding species spend the whole summer defending feeder territory from each other — a perch nearby gives yours a place to rest and watch without giving up ground to a rival.
Shop Charm Redwood Swing →Idaho's Year-Round Resident
Anna's Hummingbird Resident
While Idaho's other species head south for the winter, Anna's stays. A 2021 study in Western Birds documented this species' winter-range expansion into Idaho, with dozens banded annually in the Treasure Valley and Ada County showing genuine site fidelity year after year. A companion paper from the same research group documented the first confirmed successful Anna's breeding record for Idaho: a nest near Boise in February 2020, with an estimated egg-laying date of February 23 — remarkably early even for a species known for winter nesting.
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 Anna's
Anna's is Idaho's only hummingbird that sticks around all winter — a second feeder in a different spot means your resident isn't defending the same lone station through the cold months when nothing else is coming through.
Shop AspenPerch® Feeder →If You're Lucky: Idaho's Historic Rarities
Three more species have each been accepted by the Idaho Bird Records Committee (IBRC), real, documented, single events with nothing recurring since. One of them is a species most of the country would call common.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
Idaho's four accepted records run Mountain Home AFB in Elmore County (Sept 2004), Ashton in Fremont County (Sept 2006), and Ola in Gem County (Aug 2009, the most recent, photographed) — nothing since, 17 years as of 2026. East of the Rockies this is the common backyard hummingbird; in Idaho it's a genuine IBRC review species.
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.
Costa's Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
Idaho's only accepted record: an immature male banded in Meridian, Ada County, present from October 2004 through January 2005. A separate 1996 sighting at Squaw Bay was formally reviewed and rejected — determined to be an Anna's × Costa's hybrid rather than a pure Costa's. Nothing accepted since 2004–2005, 21 years as of 2026.
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.
Broad-billed Hummingbird Historic / Accidental
Idaho's only accepted record: an adult male banded in Caldwell, Canyon County, in May 2004. Nothing has been recorded since, 22 years as of 2026.
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.
Give Every Visitor a Reason to Stay
A feeder brings hummingbirds in — what keeps them coming back, common breeder or once-in-a-lifetime rarity alike, is real nectar and a reason to linger. Nectarlyte® Powder adds electrolytes and calcium beyond plain sugar water, and Perfect Little Sanctuary® Wildflower Seed packs 12 nectar-rich varieties into one packet for lasting habitat.
Idaho Hummingbirds at a Glance
The chart below shows Idaho's five regularly-occurring species by true statewide peak frequency — Black-chinned leads clearly, but Rufous and Calliope both hold real, substantial ground of their own. Ruby-throated, Costa's, and Broad-billed are historic rarities too thin to chart reliably and aren't shown.
| Species | Idaho Records | Best Chance |
|---|---|---|
| Black-chinned | Idaho's most common hummingbird at lower elevations | May through September, statewide |
| Rufous | Genuine breeder, not just passing through | Late April through mid-September |
| Calliope | Genuine breeder, documented multi-year site fidelity | Late April through mid-September |
| Broad-tailed | Genuine breeder, mainly southern Idaho | Mid-May through mid-August |
| Anna's | Year-round resident since documented 2020s range expansion | Year-round, concentrated in Treasure Valley/Ada Co. |
| Ruby-throated | 4 accepted records, most recent 2009 | Not expected — genuine rarity |
| Costa's | 1 accepted record (2004-2005), Idaho's only | Not expected — genuine one-off |
| Broad-billed | 1 accepted record (May 2004), Idaho's only | Not expected — genuine one-off |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many species of hummingbirds are in Idaho?
Eight species have been documented in Idaho. Black-chinned, Rufous, Calliope, and Broad-tailed all breed here in real numbers, Anna's is a year-round resident, and Ruby-throated, Costa's, and Broad-billed are each historic rarities with one to four accepted records.
What is the most common hummingbird in Idaho?
Black-chinned Hummingbird, according to Idaho Department of Fish and Game — the most common species at lower elevations statewide, with peak checklist frequency near 24% in August.
Are hummingbirds in Idaho year-round?
Yes — Anna's Hummingbird has become a genuine year-round resident following a documented winter-range expansion into Idaho, with a confirmed successful breeding record near Boise in 2020.
Is Ruby-throated Hummingbird common in Idaho?
No — despite being the common backyard hummingbird across most of the eastern United States, Ruby-throated is a genuine rarity in Idaho, with only four accepted records and nothing since 2009.
For feeder setup, nectar ratios, and native plants that support these species, head back to our how-to-attract-hummingbirds-in-Idaho guide. For region-by-region arrival and departure windows, see the Idaho 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 Idaho, that answer is genuinely more interesting than most: four real breeders instead of one, a resident species that wasn't here a generation ago, and a species most Americans consider common turning out to be one of the state's rarest visitors. 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 Idaho 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. Five species cleared a meaningful bar at true statewide scale: Black-chinned, Rufous, Calliope, Broad-tailed, and Anna's. Because Idaho genuinely has this many species with real, differentiated statewide presence — not one dominant species and a long tail of rarities — we built an actual frequency chart rather than skipping straight to the table, the way most single-breeder states on this site do. Ruby-throated, Costa's, and Broad-billed all measured at or near zero at true statewide scale and are excluded from the chart; we cross-checked all three directly against the Idaho Bird Records Committee's own species distribution pages rather than relying on eBird frequency alone, which is where their exact accepted-record counts, dates, and locations came from.
Sources
- Idaho Bird Records Committee (IBRC), Official Checklist. Source for all 8 species on this page.
- Idaho Bird Records Committee, Review Species List. Source for which species require documentation.
- IBRC species distribution page, Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Source for accepted-record dates and locations.
- IBRC species distribution page, Costa's Hummingbird. Source for the accepted record and the 1996 hybrid-rejection detail.
- IBRC species distribution page, Broad-billed Hummingbird. Source for the accepted record.
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Wildlife Express (June 2023). Source for Black-chinned's and Broad-tailed's status as genuine Idaho breeders.
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game, Species Catalog: Calliope Hummingbird. Source for Calliope's breeding conservation rank.
- Pollock et al. 2021, "Monitoring through community science: Anna's Hummingbird winter range expansion into Idaho," Western Birds 52(1):58-67. Source for Anna's winter-resident status.
- Robinson et al. 2021, "First documentation of successful breeding for the Anna's Hummingbird in Idaho," Western Birds 52(1):76-79. Source for the 2020 Boise nest record.
- American Bird Conservancy, Rufous Hummingbird. Source for Idaho's inclusion in Rufous's real breeding range.
- eBird bar chart data, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Idaho 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.
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Shop Idaho'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.
