General

Anna's Hummingbird: Medium-sized hummingbird; male has bronze-green upperparts and dull gray underparts. Hood and throat are iridescent red, but may appear black or dark purple in low light; broken white eye-ring is usually visible. Tail is dark green with black outer tail feathers. Female is duller with a green cap and sometimes shows metallic red or purple patches and spots on throat. Dark green tail is white-tipped. Subadult male resembles female but has darker throat with distinctive streaking and may show red spots on crown. Juvenile resembles female but has white throat with faint spotting.

Range and Habitat

Anna's Hummingbird: Resident from northern California southward; spends winters regularly from British Columbia south to Arizona. Preferred habitats include chaparral, brushy oak woodlands, and gardens.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"chip" , "chee-chee-chee-chee"

Interesting Facts

 Anna's Hummingbirds consume more insects than any other North American hummingbird.

 Increased planting of ornamental, flowering plants, due to development in California over the past fifty years, has allowed these birds to greatly expand their breeding range.

 Their hearts beat at 1260 beats per minute.

 A group of hummingbirds has many collective nouns, including a "bouquet", "glittering", " hover", "shimmer", and "tune" of hummingbirds.

Author

Gary Owen Dick