3 Types of Hummingbirds Found in Alaska! (2025)
What types of hummingbirds can you find in Alaska?
Hummingbirds are one of the most popular birds in Alaska and have captivated people’s interest and attention for a long time. But because hummingbirds are incredibly fast and small, these birds can be hard to distinguish from each other. Most of the time, they just look like little green, iridescent blurs streaking by your face!
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Today, you will learn about the 3 hummingbird species found in Alaska.
Each description includes identification tips, pictures, *range maps, fun facts, AND how to attract these beautiful birds to your yard!
#1: Rufous Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbirds are the most aggressive type of hummingbird in Alaska!
Be careful if one finds your hummingbird feeders or garden, as they will relentlessly attack and drive away other hummingbirds (including much larger species) away.
How To Identify:
- Males: Bright copper-orange on their back (although some males have a green back) and sides of their belly. Beautiful reddish-orange iridescent throat. White breast and ear patch behind eye. Compared to other hummingbird species, they are small.
- Females: They have a green crown, neck, and back. Rufous (copper) colored sides with a white breast and belly. Some females have a spot of red or orange on their throat.
- *Similar Species: Allen’s Hummingbird, which has slightly more green on their crown and back. Allen’s also has narrower outer tail feathers and a slightly downward-curved bill. Females of these two species are incredibly hard to tell apart.
Rufous Hummingbird Range Map
Rufous Hummingbirds have an interesting migration pattern. In the spring, they fly north up the Pacific Coast to their summer breeding grounds. They return to their southern winter homes by flying a completely different route along the Rocky Mountains!
How do you attract Rufous Hummingbirds in Alaska?
While there are many ways to draw these winged beauties to your yard, here are the two BEST strategies:
#1. Put out nectar feeders.
The most common way to get hummers to visit your backyard is to hang a quality hummingbird feeder filled with homemade nectar (sugar water).
The reason this strategy works is that nectar is a primary food source for hummingbirds. To fuel their active lifestyle, hummingbirds need to feed on it almost continuously throughout the day.
Supplying a FRESH and RELIABLE nectar source will be sought after by hummingbirds.
#2. Plant native plants that have long, tubular flowers.
As we just discussed, hummingbirds need nectar continuously, which is naturally obtained from flowers. Did you know that a hummingbird can visit up to 2,000 flowers each day looking for nectar?
With that being said, I hope it’s easy to see why you should plant shrubs, trees, and flowers in your yard that hummingbirds can’t resist! Establishing a hummingbird garden provides birds with a safe place to reliably find food.
Look for red flowers, because hummingbirds are naturally attracted to this color. Also, long, tubular flowers are great for hummingbirds because they can access the nectar with their long beaks and tongues, but bees and other insects can’t!
But please be aware that Rufous Hummingbirds may drive away any other hummers that visit your yard. These aggressive birds are incredibly territorial and will relentlessly scare away all other hummingbird species. They have even been seen chasing chipmunks!
If an aggressive Rufous Hummingbird has taken over your hummingbird feeder, you have a few options to help alleviate the pressure. My favorite strategy is setting up multiple feeders around your entire yard. The farther you can place them apart, the better! There is no way your problem bird can defend all the feeding stations at once, ensuring that other individuals get a chance to eat. 🙂
What sounds do Rufous Hummingbirds make?
The most common sound you will hear these birds make is a series of chipping notes, which are given as a warning to intruding birds. Males also make a “chu-chu-chu” call at the bottom of a dive while trying to impress females.
Fun Facts:
- They have one of the longest migrations of any bird in the world, which is incredible given their small size (roughly 3 inches)! A one-way journey from Mexico to Alaska is about 3,900 miles (6,275 km), and remember they make this trip twice a year.
- They build their nests with soft plant down held together with spider webs. Like other hummingbird species, females prefer lichen, bark, and moss as camouflage.
- In addition to drinking nectar from plants, these birds enjoy hunting gnats, midges, and flies in the air, while plucking aphids from leaves.
#2: Anna’s Hummingbird
These jeweled beauties are tiny birds that are no larger than a ping pong ball and weigh about the same as a nickel.
How To Identify:
- Males: They are best known for their beautiful iridescent pinkish-red heads. Underparts are a mix between gray and green. Tail and back are dark green. Most of the time, a broken white eye-ring is visible.
- Females: Duller than the males, with a green cap and body. Their tail has a white tip. Many birds have a patch of metallic purple or red on their throat.
- *Similar Species: Costa’s Hummingbird, which is smaller with a purple throat and slightly down-curved bill.
Anna’s Hummingbirds have a distinctive song! (Press play below)
To help locate these hummingbirds, listen for a long song that often lasts ten seconds or more. The song starts with a series of buzzes, which is then followed by a pleasant-sounding whistle. The entire sequence can last more than ten seconds and typically finishes with some chip notes. Personally, it’s hard to believe these noises are coming from a pretty little hummingbird!
Anna’s Hummingbird Range Map
Anna’s are different from most hummers since they don’t migrate much, if at all. They have varied habitats, including deserts, mountains, woodlands, gardens, and chaparral. These hummingbirds are not often seen in Alaska, but they can be spotted in the southern part of the state.
How To Attract:
They are a relatively easy hummingbird species to bring to your yard. Make your own nectar using table sugar and water and set it out in a hummingbird feeder. Since not many of these birds migrate, it’s common to observe the same birds all year long!
Fun Facts:
- Anna’s Hummingbirds are known for their thrilling mating displays. The male starts by hovering in front of his chosen female for a few seconds. Then he flies straight up to heights of 130 feet (40m), concluding with him diving straight down and giving a loud squeak within a few feet of his target.
- In addition to nectar, these hummingbirds consume a wide variety of insects. Their favorites are smaller bugs, such as whiteflies, midges, and leafhoppers. They will even pluck insects off that are caught in spider webs!
- Anna’s Hummingbirds enjoy supplementing their diet with tree sap. When available, they will eat sugary sap that is leaking out of holes made by sapsuckers.
#3: Costa’s Hummingbird (RARE)
How To Identify:
- Males: Their large, iridescent purple gorget makes them easy to identify, as it covers their head, along with flaring out along the sides of their neck like an overgrown mustache.
- Females: Females have a white throat and underparts, along with a green back and head. Look for white-tips on the green tail feathers. Both sexes appear compact with a short tail.
I “mustache” you a question? Have you ever seen a hummingbird quite like this one?
Costa’s Hummingbirds have a limited range in the United States. They are found in various habitats, including desert scrub, chaparral, sage scrub, and even in deciduous forests in their Mexico wintering grounds.
While it’s not common, these hummingbirds are sometimes observed in southern Alaska.
Somehow these birds must have gotten lost or blown WAY off course!
Costa’s Hummingbird Range Map
Males have a spirited mating display used to attract females. They typically perform a series of dives and loops in front of the female in hopes of impressing her, and they even position themselves at the correct angle to the sun to show their violet plumage!
Fun Facts:
- Researchers have found that Costa’s hummingbirds must visit up to 1,800 flowers daily to obtain enough energy to sustain themselves.
- Costa’s Hummingbirds are shyer than other larger species. To attract them to your yard, try offering multiple feeders to give them a place to feed away from these more aggressive hummingbirds.
Do you want to learn more about hummingbirds in Alaska?
If so, here are a few books you should consider purchasing. 🙂
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The Hummingbird Book: The Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Hummingbirds
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Attracting Hummingbirds and Butterflies to Your Backyard: Watch Your Garden Come Alive With Beauty on the Wing
Which of these hummingbirds have you seen before in Alaska?
Leave a comment below!
