Somewhere on the way to building a better hummingbird swing, Pop's Birding turned into a place people bring their hummingbird questions. They arrive the same way every season: why the feeder went quiet in August, which bird that actually was, whether April is too early to hang a feeder, what to do about the ants. Three generations of an Idaho family company later, those questions are the reason this library exists.
Everything here is organized around the way people actually ask. If you want to know what's in your backyard and when, start with your state. If you're curious how the birds behave differently across the country, the regional guides go deeper. If one particular bird has your attention, the species guides cover it end to end. And the Learning Center itself holds the practical, everyday answers about feeders, nectar, swings, and keeping your birds safe.
Every guide is fact-checked against primary sources — state bird records committees, ornithological societies, wildlife agencies, and the ornithological literature — and we name those sources in the text so you can check our work. Where the data is thin or a record is still under review, we say so rather than round it off. If you find something we got wrong, we'd like to hear about it.
1 · General topics & education
Hummingbird Learning Center
For every level of birder. This is where the everyday questions get answered — which feeder, what nectar ratio, why the birds stopped coming, what's driving their behavior — with the research behind each answer laid out plainly. If you're new, start here.
Browse the Learning Center
All About Hummingbirds: An Introductory Guide to the Species
The only birds that fly backward and hover in place. A sourced, fact-checked guide to hummingbird species, behavior, and migration.
Read the guide →
2 · Where you live
Hummingbird Guide by State
Which hummingbirds actually show up in your state, when they arrive and leave, and what helps them thrive in your yard specifically. Each state gets its own guides, built from that state's bird records committee list and ten years of eBird sighting data rather than a national average.
How to Attract — feeders, plants, timing and placement for your state Hummingbird Calendar — month-by-month arrival and departure, with region-level timing Types of Hummingbirds — the full species list for your state, from residents to rare visitors
Every state already has its own guide; calendars and species lists are being added state by state.
Find your state3 · The closer look
Hummingbird Behavior by Region
How hummingbird behavior changes from one part of the country to another — why July changes everything in the Mountain West, how fifteen species share a single Southwest canyon, and what that means for the feeder on your porch. For readers who want to dig deeper than a single state.
Migration by region — live now for all 8 regionsNesting by region — coming soon Survival & adaptation by region — coming soon
Browse by region
Hummingbird Migration: Why There's No Single Hummingbird Season
Some hummingbirds nest in December while others fly 3,900 miles. What triggers migration, how they navigate, and what's happening in your region right now.
Read the overview →
4 · One bird at a time
Hummingbird Guide by Species
Everything about a single species in one place, broken into three guides so you can go as deep as you like — from telling the bird at your feeder apart from its look-alikes, to where it travels, to how it courts, nests and raises a family.
ID Guide — how to identify males, females and juveniles, with range and behavior at a glance Migration Guide — where the species travels through the year, and how its range is changing Behavior Guide — diet, courtship, nesting and how it raises its young
Every covered species has its ID guide; migration and behavior guides are being added species by species.
Browse by species
24 Types of Hummingbirds in the United States: The Complete Guide to 14 Species (Plus 10 Rare)
A complete guide to 14 hummingbird species found in the US — where each one lives, how to identify it, and links to our full species guides.
Read the overview →
Amethyst-throated Mountain-gem
Guide coming soon
Bahama woodstar
Guide coming soon
Berylline
Guide coming soon
Bumblebee
Guide coming soon
Cinnamon
Guide coming soon
Green-breasted Mango
Guide coming soon
Mexican Violetear
Guide coming soon
Plain-capped Starthroat
Guide coming soon
White-eared
Guide coming soon
Xantus's
Guide coming soon
6 · Quick answers & tools
Common FAQs & Tools
Calculators that do the figuring for you, followed by the short version of the questions we get most — nectar, building a backyard sanctuary, orders and Pop's products — with links to the full guide when you want more.
Nectar Change Calculator — the exact mix for your batch size and product, plus how often to change it at your temperatureSpecies Identifier Quiz — coming soon: answer a few questions about the bird at your feeder and narrow it down to the species found in your state
FAQs & tools
