Hummingbird Identification.6 Characteristics to Identify a Hummingbird (2024)

Allen's:

• Throat
  -male - brilliant orange red
  -female - white and speckled with green and bronze
• Bill
  - straight, medium length
• Tail-long pointed black tipped tail
• Range
  -California coast, southern Oregon
  
• Body
  - male -iridescent green back, underparts white with a rufous "vest"
  - female - similar to Rufous(hard to distinguish),green back, white and rufous underparts

Allen's Male

Allen's Female

Anna's:

• Throat
  - male-rose red,includes the head and extends down the sides
  -female-only a splash of red on throat
• Bill
  - long and slender
• Tail
  - dark,tipped with white
• Range
  - California coast-does not migrate
• Body
  - male-iridescent green back,greyish underparts
  -female-geeen,grey chest and belly

Anna's Male

Anna's Female

Bahama Woodstar:

• Throat
  - male-glittering purple
  -female-all white
• Bill
  - long,slightly curved
• Tail
  - blackish purple forked tail
• Range
  - the Bahamas except the Great and Little Inagua Islands
• Body
  - male-green gold backs, olive buff underparts, white flanks
  -female-similar to males lack forked tail

Bahama Woodstar Male

Bahama Woodstar Female

Berylline:

• Throat
  - male-apple green to turquoise includes head
  -female-plain
• Bill
  - straight, red below, black above
• Tail
  - dark with some purple violet, square to slightly notched
• Range
  - Southeastern Arizona, Texas
• Body
  - male-irridesent olive green brownish grey cinnamon and white underparts
  -female-similar to male but plainer

Berylline Male

Berylline Female

Black-chinned:

• Throat
  - male-black and purple at base
  -female-whitish with brown spots
• Bill
  - medium length
• Tail
  - long deeply notched extends beyond wingtips
• Range
  -West and Southwest, spotted in southeast
• Body
  - male-green above,pale grey and whitish underparts
  -female-dull green, pale grey to whitish underparts

Black-chinned Male

Black-chinned Female

Blue-throated:

• Throat
  - male-blue
  - female-plain grey
• Bill
  - long,slightly curved
• Tail
  - long,blue/black with broad white tips
• Range
  - Southwestern Arizona, Western Texas, Southern New Mexico
• Body
  - male-dull green on top, medium grey on belly
  - female-similar but lacks the blue throat

Blue-throated Male

Blue-throated Female

Broad-billed:

• Throat
  - male-dazzling sapphire blue
  - female-plain
• Bill
  - male-long, vivid red
• Tail
  - long
• Range
  - Southwestern United States, occasional in Texas and Louisiana
• Body
  - male-emerald green back, whitish to grey underparts
  - female-green back, grey underparts

(Note:sometimes confused with the Buff-bellied both have red beaks)

Broad-billed Male

Broad-billed Female

Broad-tailed:

• Throat
  - male-brilliant rose red or hot pink
  - female-evenly speckled greenish-bronze
• Bill
  - long, straight
• Tail
  - long, broad
• Range -Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming
• Body
  - male-green upper, white with grey green underparts
  - female-green above - grey below

Broad-tailed Male

Broad-tailed Female

Buff-bellied:

• Throat
  - male-iridescent green
  - female-muted iridescent green
• Bill
  - slightly curved, red with black tip
• Tail
  - rounded
• Range
  - Gulfcoast of Texas, Winter sightings in Western Florida, Central Texas, Arkansas
• Body
  - olive green back, cinnamon underparts

(Note: the largest hummingbird in the United States)

Buff-bellied Male

Buff-bellied Female

Calliope:

• Throat
  - male-red streaks over a white background
  - female-dusky bronze
• Bill
  - short, straight,black
• Tail
  - very short black with white tips
• Range
  - Pacific Northwest, Interior West
• Body
  - male-bright green above, creamy white underparts
  - female-pinkish flanks,dark streaks near the throat

Calliope Male

Calliope Female

Costa's:

• Throat
  - male-metallic purple with long extensions
  - female-unmarked or has a small patch of metallic violet
• Bill
  - short,thin,slightly curved
• Tail
  - rounded
• Range
  -Southern desserts, Pacific Coastal Areas
• Body
  - male-green above, pale green underparts
  - female-green to golden green underparts

Costa's Male

Costa's Female

Cuban Emerald:
(natives call this hummingbird Zun-zun)

• Throat
  - male
• - female-grey
• Bill
  - short with a black upper beak and a red lower beak with a black tip
• Tail
  - deeply fork
• Range
  - Grand Bahama, Great Abaco and Andos Islands, some in rest of Bahamas, vagrants in Florida
• Body
  - male- almost completely metallic or iridescent green, whitish spot behind eye
  - female-green above,grey breast and underparts, whitish spot behind eye

Cuban Emerald Male

Cuban Emerald Female

Lucifer:

• Throat
  - male-purple
  - female-white with cinnamon
• Bill
  - long, curved
• Tail
  - long deeply forked with narrow outer feathers
• Range
  - Rare but increasing sightings in the Southwest
• Body
  - male-green above, white underparts

Lucifer Male

Lucifer Female

Ruby-throated:

• Gorget/Throat
  - male - ruby red
  - female - plain
• Bill
  - long, slightly curved, black
• Tail
  - deeply notched
• Range
  - only breeds east of the Mississippi
• Body
  - male - iridescent green back white breast around sides of neck, red gorget
  - female - iridescent green back grey green sides

Ruby-throated Male

Ruby-throated Female

Rufous:

• Throat
  -male-billiant scarlet to orange
  -female-whithish,marked with green to bronze
• Bill
  - medium short black
• Tail
  - rounded
• Range
  - Northwest, farther north than any hummingbird includes Alaska, Eastern vagrant in winter
• Body
  - male-upper rufous, green underparts, white rufous vest - female bright green back, white underparts with rufous

(Note: The adult female is almost the same as an immature Allen's but has a broader tail with a notched tip)

Rufous Male

Rufous Female

White-eared:

• Throat
  - male-extended solid turquoise green
  - female-streaked or spotted
• Bill
  - coral red with black tip
• Tail
  - long square slightly forked
• Range
  - Southeaster Arizona, Southwestern New Mexico, Western Texas
• Body
  - male-white ear stripe arches over eye, upperparts turquise, underparts green with a white belly stripe

White-eared Male

White-eared Female

Xantus:

• Throat
  - male-green with green spangles
  - female-plain
• Bill
  - long, red with black tip
• Tail
  - long, bright rusty
• Range
  - limited to Baja California
• Body
  - male-upper parts bright green to bronze, with black mask, white ear stripe, underparts rufous
  - female-has black mask, white ear stripe, underparts pale cinnamon

Xantus

Antillean Crested:

• Head
  - distinctive crested with a metallic tip
• Bill
  - short
• Tail
  - short
• Range
  - vagrant-one sighting in Texas-specimen in American Museum of Natural history
• Body
  - male-mostly dark

Antillean Crested Male

Antillean Crested Female

Cinnamon:

• Throat
  - male-cinnamon
  - female-plain
• Tail
  - square,rufous,green gold tipped
• Bill
  - long
• Range
  - vagrant in Southwestern United States
• Body
  - bronze green back, cinnamon underparts

Cinnamon Hummingbird

Green-breasted Mango:

• Throat
  - male-dark emerald green with broad strips
  - female-white with black stripe
• Bill
  - long, curved
• Tail
  - square to slightly notched
• Range
  - Texas vagrant
• Body
  - male-metallic green with a patch of blue violet on the ear
  - female-bronze-green upperparts,white underparts

Green Breasted Mango

Green Violet-ear:

• Throat
  - male-bright green,blue purple ear patch
  - female-duller gorget,has blue purple ear patch
• Bill
  -long,straight,red with black tip
• Tail
  -forked
• Range
  -rare sightings in Southwestern Arizona, Southwestern New Mexico, Western Texas
• Body
  -male-white eye stripe arches over eye, upperparts turquoise, underparts green with a white belly stripe

Green Violet-ear

Magnificient:

• Throat
  - male-apple green to turquoise green
  - female-plain
• Bill
  -long
• Tail
  - long, straight
• Range
  - rare sightings in Southwest
• Body
  - green above, grey underparts

Magnificent Male

Magnificent Female

Plain-capped Starthroat:

• Throat
  - male-metallic-violet red
  - female-band of on lower throat
• Bill
  - very long straight black
• Tail
  - slightly notched bronze green
• Range
  - rare sightings Southeastern Arizona and New Mexico
• Body
  - male-dull green to olive upperparts, bronze underparts - female-resembles male but slightly less colorful