Hummingbirds Found in Montana: (Pictures and Sounds)

This article identifies and describes Montana hummingbirds, where in Montana they are seen, and whether they are year-round, seasonal, or rare vagrant residents.

Which species of Montana hummingbirds are found in the state?

Calliope, Rufous, Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, Anna’s, Ruby-throated, Rivoli’s, Costa’s, and Mexican Violetear hummingbirds are the 9 species documented as seen in Montana listed in order of frequency seen.

Sighting Maps:

These 9 species of hummingbirds are documented as being seen in Montana by sighting maps, listed in the order of frequently seen:

• Calliope – (Selasphorus calliope)
• Rufous – (Selasphorus rufus)
• Black-chinned – (Archilochus alexandri)
• Broad-tailed – (Selsaphoris platycercus)
• Anna’s – (Calypte anna)
• Ruby-throated – (Archilochus colubris)
• Rivoli’s – (Eugenes fulgens)
• Costa’s – (Calypte costae)
• Mexican Violetear (Colibri thalassinus)

These 9 hummingbird species found in Montana are further classified into three groups:
Year-round residents, Seasonal, and Rare/Vagrant visitors.

Hummingbird:	Year-Round, Seasonal, Rare/Vagrant
Calliope	Seasonal
Rufous	Seasonal
Black-chinned	Seasonal
Broad-tailed	Seasonal
Anna’s	Rare/Vagrant
Ruby-throated	Rare/Vagrant
Rivoli’s	Rare/Vagrant
Costa’s	Rare/Vagrant
Mexican Violetear	Rare/Vagrant

Even though the Broad-tailed hummingbird has less than a 1,000 sightings in Montana, they are known to breed in the state, therefore they are placed in the seasonal category.

For more information on Montana hummingbirds:
Read my article: Hummingbird Migration in Montana

Montana, known as The Treasure State, after all of its rich sources in mineral reserves has four hummingbirds, the Calliope, Rufous, Black-chinned, and Broad-tailed hummingbirds breed and nest in Montana, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Read on to find out more about each of these hummingbird species as well as where and when they can be found in Montana.

Year-Round Montana Hummingbirds:

There are no hummingbirds classified as year-round residents in Montana.
This hummingbird classification is defined as hummingbirds that are year-round residents residing in Montana 365 days a year and do not migrate.

Montana winters are cold and harsh for hummingbirds to survive year-round, therefore they migrate south for the winter.
However, some hummingbirds can choose to overwinter in Montana even though it is rare.

Contrary to popular belief, hummingbirds can withstand far lower temperatures than most people would expect.

Some banded hummingbirds have been observed at temperatures as low as -9 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of -36 degrees Fahrenheit, according to eBird.org.

See my article:
3 Reasons Why Hummingbirds Are Banded

Seasonal Montana Hummingbirds:

The Calliope, Rufous, Black-chinned, and Broad-tailed hummingbirds are the 4 classified seasonal Montana hummingbirds.

Hummingbirds that fit within this category are those that temporality pass through Montana as part of their migratory pattern during spring and fall migration.

Hummingbirds move south to spend the winter in Mexico and Central America in the fall, after migrating north in the spring to reproduce.

Some seasonal hummingbirds will remain in Montana for the entire winter by choice, injury, or old age, although rare.

Read on to find out more about each of these hummingbird species as well as where and when they can be found in Montana.

CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD – (Selasphorus calliope)

Conservation Status: Least concerned
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Selasphorus
Species: S. calliope

Calliope hummingbirds are located in western North America and are a migrating species.
They breed in the north from southern Alaska and most travel all the way south to winter in Mexico, therefore making them seasonal migrating birds to Montana.

Sightings map show the Calliope hummingbirds have documented sightings in areas of Montana heavily concentrated in the north west and south central.

The Calliope hummingbird is the most commonly seen hummingbird in Montana and also breed and nest in the state.

For more pictures and information on Calliope hummingbirds.

RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD – (Selasphorus rufus)

Conservation Status: Near threatened
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Selasphorus
Species: S. rufous

Rufous hummingbirds are located in western North America and are a migrating species.
They breed in the north from southern Alaska and most travel all the way south to winter in Mexico.

They are the second most commonly seen seasonal hummingbird in Montana and also breed and nest in the state.

Sightings map show the Rufous hummingbirds have documented Montana sightings in the north west and south central areas with scattered sightings in Glasgow, Baker, and Broadus.

For more pictures and information on Rufous hummingbirds.

BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD – (Archilochus alexandri)

Conservation Status: Least concerned
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Archilochus
Species: A. alexandri

The Black-chinned hummingbird is a migratory bird that breeds as far north as Canada, the western United States, and as south as Mexico.
They are the third most commonly seen seasonal visitor to Montana.

Sighting map show Black-chinned hummingbirds have documented Montana sightings in the north west and south central areas, with a few scattered in Saco and St Marie.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture Montana (USDA), Black-chinned hummingbirds are a common summer breeding resident in Montana.
Their breeding grounds and habitat are closely related to their cousin counterparts, the Ruby-throated hummingbird.

For more pictures and information on Black-chinned hummingbirds.

BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD – (Selsaphoris platycercus)

Conservation Status: Least concerned
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Selsaphoris
Species: S. platycercus

The Broad-tailed hummingbird, though usually residing in Mexico and as far south as Guatemala during the winter, is a seasonal hummingbird to Montana.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Broad-tailed hummingbirds are a common summer breeding resident in Montana.

Even though the Broad-tailed hummingbird has less than a 1,000 sightings in Montana, they are known to breed in the state, therefore they are placed in the seasonal category.

Sightings map show Broad-tailed hummingbirds have documented Montana sightings in the south west and south central areas.

For more pictures and information on Broad-tailed hummingbirds.

Rare/Vagrant Hummingbirds In Montana:

Anna’s, Ruby-throated, Rivoli’s, Costa’s, and Mexican Violetear hummingbirds are the 5 Montana hummingbirds classified as rare or vagrant listed in order of frequency seen.

This hummingbird classification is defined as hummingbirds residing in a group outside of their normal geographic range.

Not only do these species of hummingbirds have a wide variety of specific geographic ranges, but they are also known to sometimes interbreed with each other creating hybrids.

Read on to find out more about each of these hummingbird species as well as where and when they can be found in Montana.

ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD – (Calypte anna) 

Conservation Status: Least concerned
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Calypte
Species: C. anna

The Anna’s hummingbirds are year-round residents to Washington, Oregon and California.
They live along the western coastline of North America, starting from southern Canada all the way to northern Baja California.
They are a rare visitor to Montana since they are seen mainly in the Western United States.

Sightings map show Anna’s hummingbirds have documented sightings in Montana in Eureka, Whitefish, East Glacier Park, Kalispell, Polson, Thompson Falls, Missoula, Lolo, Stevensville, Victor, Hamilton, Deer lodge, Helena, Butte, Bozeman, Emigrant, Billings, Saco, and Fort Peck.

For more pictures and information on Anna’s hummingbirds.

RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD – (Archilochus colubris)

Conservation Status: Least concerned
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Archilochus
Species: A. colubris

Ruby-throated hummingbirds main residence is mostly in the Midwest and on the east coast of the United States, therefore they are a rare/vagrant hummingbird to Montana.

Sightings map show the Ruby-throated hummingbirds have documented scattered Montana sightings in East Glacier Park, Flathead National Forest, Shelby, Havre, Malta, Glasgow, Fort Peck, Scobey, Plentywood, Glendive, Wibaux, Miles City, Billings, and Bozeman.

For more pictures and information on Ruby-throated hummingbirds.

RIVOLI’S HUMMINGBIRD aka MAGNIFICENT – (Eugenes fulgens)

Conservation Status: Least concerned
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Eugenes
Species: E. fulgens

The Rivoli’s hummingbird (pronounced: rivo-lee), previously known as the Magnificent hummingbird, primarily inhabits mountainous regions of the southwestern United States (southern Arizona and New Mexico) through Mexico and all the way down to Nicaragua in Central America.

They are an extremely rare and accidental visitor to Montana.

Sightings map document the Rivoli’s hummingbird to have documented rare Montana sightings in north west East Glacier Park.

For more pictures and information on Rivoli’s hummingbirds.

COSTA’S HUMMINGBIRD – (Calypte costae)

Conservation Status: Least concerned
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Calypte
Species: C. costae

The Costa’s hummingbird, though usually residing in the Western United States, Mexico and as far south as Guatemala during the winter, is a rare accidental vagrant hummingbird to Montana.

Sightings map show Costa’s hummingbirds have documented Montana sightings in south west Saco and north east Hamilton.

For more pictures and information on Costa’s hummingbirds.

MEXICAN VIOLETEAR
(aka GREEN VIOLETEAR) HUMMINGBIRD – (Colibri thalassinus)  

Conservation Status: Least concerned
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Apodiformes
Family: Trochilidae
Genus: Colibri
Species: C. thalassinus

The Mexican Violetear (Violet-ear) or the Green-Violetear hummingbird are usually found in Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, making them an extremely rare/accidental visitor to Montana.

Sightings map document the Mexican-Violetear hummingbird to have one documented Montana sighting in the Crow Reservation.

For more pictures and information on Mexican Violetear hummingbirds.

Keep your eyes peeled and observe and enjoy the multiple types of hummingbirds found in Montana!

See my article:
Hummingbird Migration in Montana

Check out my other posts on Hummingbird Questions

Happy Hummingbird Watching!