Hummingbirds in Tennessee: The Complete Guide to All 9 Species

Tennessee has the richest hummingbird record of any state we've covered so far — nine species confirmed, from one dependable breeder to a genuine "Regular" winter visitor to seven true rarities. That range means real identification challenges show up here more than almost anywhere else: Tennessee is one of the few places in the East where a birder might actually need to separate Rufous from Allen's, or Ruby-throated from Black-chinned, rather than just assuming the common bird.

All 9 documented Tennessee hummingbird species, grouped by tier — statewide eBird data, 2016–2025, cross-checked against the Tennessee Bird Records Committee's own accepted-record history.

The Hummingbird You're Most Likely to See

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Breeds Here

The only hummingbird that breeds regularly anywhere in Tennessee, and the species behind the vast majority of sightings from spring through fall. At roughly 3.5 inches long and weighing about as much as a penny, it's tiny even by hummingbird standards — but unmistakable once you know what to look for.

Adult males show an emerald or golden-green back and crown over gray-white underparts, with a brilliant iridescent ruby-red throat that can look flat black until the light catches it at the right angle, and a dark, distinctly forked tail. Females and immatures carry a plain whitish throat with a rounded, black-and-white-banded tail — no red at all, the quickest way to sex a bird at the feeder. Young males begin showing a scatter of red throat feathers by late summer as they molt toward adult plumage.

In flight, Ruby-throateds beat their wings roughly 50 times per second, producing the soft, low-pitched hum that often announces them before you see them. One Nashville yard alone had 353 individual birds banded in a single summer — a good sense of just how much traffic a well-stocked feeder can draw.

Quick ID: A black-masked face and a brilliant ruby-red throat that can look flat black without direct light identify an adult male; females and immatures show a plain whitish throat and a rounded, white-tipped tail with no red at all.

A Little Throne for Your Ruby-throated

Ruby-throated is the only hummingbird holding territory in Tennessee all summer — a perch nearby gives your breeder a vantage point to watch over its territory and rest between chases, without giving up the feeder to a newcomer.

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Ruby-throated vs. Black-chinned: Where Identification Actually Breaks Down

Adult male Ruby-throated and Black-chinned Hummingbirds are usually easy to tell apart in good light — one shows a red gorget, the other a black one edged in violet-purple. But Cornell Lab's own species comparison is blunt about the rest: females and immatures of the two species are close to identical in the field. The one field mark Cornell points to on a perched bird: wing-to-tail proportions. Ruby-throated has a longer tail that extends visibly past the wingtips at rest; Black-chinned has longer wings that reach the tip of the tail or extend just slightly beyond it. Some birders also watch for tail-pumping — Black-chinned habitually pumps its tail while hovering, Ruby-throated tends to hold its tail still — though this isn't foolproof either.

In practice: an unusual-looking female hummingbird in Tennessee is still far more likely to be a Ruby-throated than a genuine Black-chinned, simply on the numbers. But Black-chinned's "Casual" status here means it's a real enough possibility that the wing-to-tail check is worth knowing.

Hummingbirds in Tennessee in Winter

Ruby-throated mostly clears out for the winter, but Tennessee's feeders don't necessarily go quiet — this is where the state genuinely stands out.

Rufous Hummingbird Migrant/Winter — Tennessee's official "Regular" winter visitor

Per the Tennessee Bird Records Committee, Rufous is the only western hummingbird species classified "Regular" in the state — a genuine, expected part of the Tennessee winter, not a rarity. The numbers back it up: before the late 1980s there was a single confirmed Tennessee record; by winter 2007–08 there had been more than 100. Some banded individuals return to the same yard year after year.

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 green-backed above with rufous-washed flanks, rusty patches on the green tail, and often a small orange spot at the throat.

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, best separated from Allen's by their broader outer tail feathers.

An Extra Feeder for Your Rufous Visitor

Rufous is Tennessee's official "Regular" winter visitor, and famously territorial — it'll chase off anything that gets near its feeder, regardless of size. A second feeder elsewhere in the yard gives it, and anything else that turns up, a station of its own.

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Rufous vs. Allen's: One of the Hardest Calls in North American Birding

Tennessee's confirmed record list includes both Rufous and Allen's Hummingbird, and separating them is widely regarded as one of the trickiest identification problems in the hobby — hundreds of Selasphorus hummingbirds stray east of the Rockies every fall, and telling the two apart from a distance is genuinely difficult even for experienced birders.

The unreliable myth: "orange with a green back means Allen's." Cornell notes some male Rufous also show green backs, so back color alone isn't safe. A more useful rule of thumb: if the back is less than half green, it's almost certainly Rufous.

The reliable method: tail feather shape. In Allen's, all the tail feathers are narrower than in Rufous, most noticeably the outer three; adult male Rufous also shows a distinctive notch on the second tail feather that Allen's lacks. This is genuinely hard to see in the field and is usually confirmed only when a bird is examined in the hand. Female and immature Rufous and Allen's are essentially identical without that in-hand check — which is exactly why Tennessee's own Allen's records lean on banding data rather than photographs alone.

Tennessee's Recurring Rarities

Two species carry the Tennessee Bird Records Committee's "Casual" or "Rare/Casual" status — a real step above a one-off, meaning more than a single isolated record: Black-chinned and Broad-billed.

Black-chinned Hummingbird Rare / Casual Visitor

Classified "Casual" by Tennessee's records committee — a genuine, if less common, winter visitor, occurring with some frequency but not every year. Adult males show a velvety black throat edged in a thin, hard-to-see band of iridescent violet-purple, visible only at the right angle; in poor light the whole gorget simply reads as black. Females and young are, per the identification section above, effectively inseparable from female Ruby-throated without a close look at wing-to-tail proportions.

Quick ID: A velvety black throat with a thin, hard-to-see band of iridescent purple and a small white spot behind the eye mark an adult male; females are essentially identical to female Ruby-throated except for longer wings that reach nearly to the tail tip.

Broad-billed Hummingbird Rare / Casual Visitor

A species whose normal range is Arizona and Mexico, and one Cornell Lab calls unmistakable within it: a vivid red bill tipped in black, an emerald body, and a glittering sapphire-blue throat on adult males — no other North American hummingbird combines a red bill with a blue gorget. Females are duller, with grayish underparts and that same telltale red-and-black bill. Tennessee has two records, seven years apart, with the most recent only 22 months old — a real enough recurrence to sit a step above the state's purely one-off rarities.

Quick ID: A bright red bill tipped in black is diagnostic on both sexes — no other North American hummingbird pairs a red bill with a blue gorget; adult males add a shimmering sapphire throat, females a duller grayish one.

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Black-chinned turns up most winters and Broad-billed has now shown twice in seven years — genuine recurring rarities, not one-offs. A real nectar recipe with electrolytes and calcium gives a hummingbird that's already come hundreds of miles off course a reason to stick around and get documented.

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If You're Lucky: Tennessee's Historic Rarities

The remaining five are classified "Accidental" by the committee — genuine, documented, but genuinely one-off records, each a single confirmed appearance rather than a recurring pattern.

Allen's Hummingbird Historic / Accidental

See the identification section above — Allen's is genuinely one of the toughest calls in the hobby when it turns up this far from its normal Pacific Coast range. Adult males show a bronze-green back with a coppery tail, eye patch, and belly, plus a deep reddish-orange gorget. Females and immatures look almost identical to female Rufous and are reliably separated only by tail feather shape, usually confirmed in the hand.

Quick ID: A bronze-green back paired with a coppery tail, eye patch, and belly marks an adult male; females and immatures are essentially identical to female Rufous and are reliably separated only by tail feather shape, usually confirmed in the hand.

Anna's Hummingbird Historic / Accidental

A Pacific Coast species and a genuine long-distance stray when it turns up in Tennessee. Adult males show an iridescent rose-pink gorget that extends up over the crown, not just the throat — no other species on this list shows color on the head itself, making a well-seen male unmistakable. Females and young are green above with a whitish throat, sometimes flecked with a few pink spots at the center.

Quick ID: The only North American hummingbird with a fully colored crown as well as gorget — a well-seen adult male flashes rose-pink from forehead to throat, unmistakable at the right angle; females show a stocky build with a pale eye stripe and, unusually for a female hummingbird, a few iridescent red spots on the throat.

Broad-tailed Hummingbird Historic / Accidental

A Rocky Mountain species, and one whose presence is often heard before it's seen — adult males produce a distinctive, insectlike metallic trill with their wings in flight that no other Tennessee hummingbird makes. Visually, adult males show a rose-magenta gorget (not true ruby-red) and lack the dark facial mask that Ruby-throated shows; females and immatures are green above with a pale eye-ring and less rufous in the tail than a similarly-sized Rufous or Allen's.

Quick ID: Listen first — males produce a loud, insectlike metallic wing trill in flight that no other Tennessee hummingbird makes; visually, they show a rose-magenta gorget (not true ruby-red) and lack Ruby-throated's dark facial mask.

Calliope Hummingbird Historic / Accidental

The smallest breeding bird in North America — about half the body mass of North America's smallest songbird, the Bushtit. Adult males are unmistakable once seen well: magenta rays fan out from the throat over a white underside, with a greenish vest below. Females and immatures lack the flashy throat, showing only faint streaky spotting instead, and are easily confused with female Broad-tailed — eBird notes the safest field marks are Calliope's smaller size, shorter tail with almost no rufous color, and a thin white line above the base of the bill.

Quick ID: Adult males show magenta throat rays split into separate streaks rather than a solid patch — unique among North American hummingbirds; the smallest bird in the U.S. and Canada, with a short tail that never extends past the wingtips.

Mexican Violetear Historic / Accidental

A Central American and Mexican species, and the least-expected entry on Tennessee's list — most U.S. records come from spring overshoots, birds that overshoot their normal migration and end up hundreds of miles north of range. Adult birds are a rich metallic green overall with a violet-blue patch across the ear coverts and upper breast that gives the species its name, visible at close range or in good light. Tennessee has two accepted records, in 2007 (Memphis/Shelby Co.) and 2020 (Montgomery Co., banded).

Quick ID: Larger and stockier than Tennessee's other hummingbirds, with an all-dark bill and that diagnostic violet ear patch — no other species on this list shows blue on the face.

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Tennessee Hummingbirds at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

How many species of hummingbirds are in Tennessee?

Nine species have been documented in Tennessee. Ruby-throated is the only regular breeder, Rufous is the state's official "Regular" winter visitor, Black-chinned is "Casual" (turns up most winters in smaller numbers), Broad-billed is "Rare/Casual" with two records since 2017, and Allen's, Anna's, Broad-tailed, Calliope, and Mexican Violetear are all "Accidental" — genuine one-off rarities.

Are there hummingbirds in Tennessee in winter?

Yes — Rufous Hummingbird is Tennessee's official "Regular" winter visitor, with over 100 confirmed records by 2007–08 alone. Black-chinned turns up most winters too, in smaller numbers.

How do I tell Rufous and Allen's Hummingbirds apart?

It's one of the hardest identification calls in North American birding. The reliable method is tail feather shape — Allen's has narrower tail feathers throughout, and adult male Rufous shows a distinctive notch on the second tail feather that Allen's lacks — but this is usually confirmed only with the bird in hand. A simple rule of thumb: if the back is less than half green, it's almost certainly Rufous, since the "green back means Allen's" shortcut is a myth — some male Rufous also show green backs.

How do I tell Ruby-throated and Black-chinned Hummingbirds apart?

Adult males are the easy case: Ruby-throated shows a red gorget, Black-chinned shows a black throat with a thin violet-purple band at the base. Females and young are effectively inseparable in the field — Cornell Lab points to wing-to-tail proportions as the one useful field mark (Ruby-throated's tail extends past the wingtips; Black-chinned's wings reach nearly to the tail tip).

How do I tell a Ruby-throated from a Broad-tailed Hummingbird?

Listen first — male Broad-tailed produces a distinctive metallic wing trill in flight that Ruby-throated doesn't make. Visually, Broad-tailed lacks Ruby-throated's dark facial mask and shows a rose-magenta gorget rather than true ruby-red.

For feeder setup, nectar ratios, and native plants that support these species, head back to our how-to-attract-hummingbirds-in-Tennessee guide. For region-by-region arrival and departure windows, see the Tennessee 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 Tennessee, that answer runs from a single confirmed breeder to a genuinely regular western winter visitor found almost nowhere else in the eastern United States, plus a handful of true rarities that needed a records committee's own review before they counted. We built this page to give a direct, sourced answer, distinguishing Tennessee's real, recurring winter visitors from the true once-in-a-lifetime records.

How We Created This

We pulled eBird bar chart data for Tennessee, statewide and county-level, 2016–2025, to see which species show a real, measurable presence — only Ruby-throated and Rufous cleared that bar, so every rarer species here is classified against the Tennessee Bird Records Committee's own Official List of the Birds of Tennessee (December 2024) rather than raw frequency alone. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's own species accounts corroborated the state's growing winter Rufous population and its status as the only western hummingbird the committee codes "Regular." One judgment call is worth surfacing: the committee codes Broad-billed Hummingbird "Accidental," but with two accepted records seven years apart — the most recent from 2024 — that pattern meets this project's own bar for a genuinely recurring rarity rather than a one-off vagrant, so we classified it against our own recurrence test rather than simply repeating the committee's label.

Sources

• Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Ruby-throated Hummingbird species page. Source for the sole-breeding-species confirmation, the 353-bird Nashville banding record, and historical Rufous record counts.
• Official List of the Birds of Tennessee, Tennessee Bird Records Committee (December 2024). Source for each species' official status (Regular, Casual, Accidental) and Tennessee's full 9-species hummingbird list, including Mexican Violetear.
• eBird bar chart data, Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Tennessee statewide and county-level, 2016–2025.