Maine Hummingbirds: 5 Awesome Documented Species

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

Which species of Maine hummingbirds are found in the state?

Ruby-throated, Rufous, Broad-tailed, Calliope, and Mexican Violetear hummingbirds are the 5 species of hummingbirds documented as seen in Maine and listed in order of frequency seen.

Sighting Maps:

These 5 species of hummingbirds are documented as being seen in Maine by sighting maps, listed in the order of frequently seen:

• Ruby-throated (Archilochus colubris)
• Rufous (Selasphorus rufus)
• Broad-tailed (Selasphorus platycercus)
• Calliope (Selasphorus calliope)
• Mexican Violetear (Colibri thalassinus)

These 5 hummingbirds species found in Maine are further classified into three groups:
Year-round residents, Seasonal, and Rare/Vagrant visitors.

Hummingbird:	Year-Round, Seasonal, Rare/Vagrant
Ruby-throated	Seasonal
Rufous	Rare/Vagrant
Broad-tailed	Rare/Vagrant
Calliope	Rare/Vagrant
Mexican Violetear	Rare/Vagrant

For more information on Maine hummingbirds:
Read my article:
Maine Hummingbird Migration

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

Year-Round
Maine Hummingbirds:

There are no hummingbirds classified as year-round residents in Maine.
This hummingbird classification is defined as year-round residents residing in Maine 365 days a year.

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

Some banded Rufous 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

Some Rufous hummingbirds are seen in Maine during winter, but most migrate south for the winter.
Other hummingbirds that are too old or injured to migrate can also overwinter.

Seasonal
Maine Hummingbirds:

The Ruby-throated hummingbird is the only classified seasonal Maine hummingbird.

This hummingbird classification is defined as hummingbirds in Maine temporarily during spring or fall migration.
Hummingbirds migrate north in the spring to reproduce and move south to spend the winter in Mexico and Central America in the fall .

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

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

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 most commonly seen in Maine.
The Ruby-throated hummingbird is the only hummingbird that breeds in Maine.

See the current sighting map of Ruby-throated hummingbirds in Maine.

For more pictures and information on Ruby-throated hummingbirds.

Rare/Vagrant
Maine Hummingbirds:

Rufous, Broad-tailed, Calliope, and Mexican Violetear hummingbirds are the 4 Maine hummingbirds classified as rare or vagrant hummingbirds.

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 in Maine.

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 are a rare vagrant visitor to Maine since they are seen mainly in the Western United States.

Some Rufous hummingbirds are seen in Maine during winter, but most migrate south for the winter.

They are the second most commonly seen hummingbird in Maine, behind the Ruby-throated hummingbird, even though there is a vast difference in sighting numbers between the two species.

See the current sighting map of Rufous hummingbirds in Maine.

For more pictures and information on Rufous 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 is primarily found in the mountainous regions of western North America and migrates south to winter in Mexico and Guatemala.
They are rare/vagrant hummingbirds to Maine.

See the current sighting map of Broad-tailed hummingbirds in Maine.

For more pictures and information on Broad-tailed hummingbirds.

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 extremely rare/vagrants to Maine.

See the current sighting map of the Calliope hummingbird in Maine.

For more pictures and information on Calliope 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 extremely rare/accidental vagrants to Maine.

See the current sighting map of Mexican Violetear hummingbirds in Maine.

For more pictures and information on Mexican Violetear hummingbirds.

Which Maine Hummingbirds Are Most Frequently Seen In The State?

The most frequently seen Maine hummingbird is the Ruby-throated hummingbird.

The other hummingbirds in order of frequency are Rufous, Broad-tailed, Calliope, and Mexican Violetear hummingbirds, even though there is a vast difference in sighting numbers between the Ruby-throat and everyone else seen in Maine.

Read my article:
Maine Hummingbird Migration

Happy Hummingbird Watching!

Check out my other posts on Hummingbird Questions