7 Hummingbirds in Virginia: From Common Backyard Visitors to Rare Vagrants
October 5, 2026
Only one hummingbird nests in Virginia, yet birders across the state have documented seven distinct species over the years, some blown hundreds of miles off course by storms or shifting migration routes. Spotting hummingbirds in Virginia usually means watching a single emerald-green regular buzz around a feeder, but every so often a western wanderer shows up to stir excitement among local birdwatchers.
This guide covers the seven species most likely to appear on a Virginia checklist: one dependable backyard resident, one semi-regular visitor, and five true rarities that test even experienced birders. Along the way, you’ll find identification tips, seasonal timing, and practical advice for drawing these tiny fliers to your own yard.
1. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
The ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) is the only hummingbird species that regularly breeds anywhere in the eastern half of the continent, and Virginia is no exception. Ruby-throated hummingbirds return to Virginia for their breeding season each spring, and the species is the only hummingbird that breeds in eastern North America. Everything else on this list is a visitor passing through or lost along the way.
Males typically arrive first, staking out feeding territory before the females follow. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is a native breeder in Virginia and is the most commonly seen hummingbird in the state, usually arriving around the middle of April and departing by the beginning of October. A small number occasionally linger into the colder months, though overwintering birds remain uncommon.
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird measures about 3.75 inches long with a 4.5-inch wingspan, making it the common, small hummingbird of eastern North America. Males show an iridescent red throat, or gorget, along with a green back and grayish-white underside, while females lack the red throat and instead display a paler chin with faint green streaking.
You’ll find them almost anywhere flowers or feeders are available. Their summer habitats include deciduous woodlands, forest edges, meadows, and areas near streams, and they are also common in orchards, old fields, gardens, parks, and backyards. Their bright throat color makes them easy to confuse with other red-throated or red-headed birds found in Virginia, so a close look at size and behavior helps confirm the ID.
Pro Tip: Hang feeders by early April so returning males find a food source waiting when they arrive. Refresh sugar water every few days in warm weather to prevent fermentation.
Ruby-throated hummingbirds share much of their eastern range with populations documented in neighboring states, including the hummingbirds recorded in Pennsylvania and the hummingbird species found in East Tennessee, both of which see similar arrival and departure windows tied to the same migratory population.
2. Rufous Hummingbird
The rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) is the second-most-frequently reported species on Virginia’s hummingbird list, though “second” doesn’t mean common. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird and the Rufous hummingbird look very similar, but there are ways to tell them apart.
Sightings in Virginia remain scattered and unpredictable. Rufous Hummingbirds are very rare to see in Virginia, and if you’re extremely lucky, you may observe one that got lost during migration. Most Virginia records come in fall, when birds that bred in the Pacific Northwest or western Canada drift east instead of heading straight south.
Males are unmistakable when seen well. Males show bright copper-orange on their back and sides of their belly, along with a beautiful reddish-orange iridescent throat. Females are trickier, showing a green crown and back with rufous-colored sides and a white breast, occasionally with a spot of orange on the throat.
This species breeds farther north and west than almost any other hummingbird, with populations recorded well into the Pacific Northwest, including areas covered in this guide to hummingbirds found in Oregon. That long migratory path is exactly why a handful end up as vagrants in Virginia each year.
3. Black-chinned Hummingbird
The black-chinned hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) is a western species that occasionally strays into Virginia, though confirmed records remain few. Black-chinned Hummingbirds are an accidental species in Virginia and have only been seen a few times in the last 10 years, in Northampton and Williamsburg.
Identification is genuinely difficult, since this species closely resembles the state’s common ruby-throated hummingbird. Black-chinned Hummingbirds are very difficult to distinguish from Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, especially females and young males, and even where the two overlap, Black-chinned averages somewhat dingier green above with a slightly drooping, longer bill. These differences are subtle enough that most sightings require a clear photograph to confirm.
Males show a black throat that only reveals its purple iridescence in the right light. Black-chinned Hummingbirds are dull metallic green on the back and grayish-white underneath. Despite their rarity here, they readily come to sugar water feeders and flower gardens wherever they do turn up, which gives backyard birders a real chance at a sighting.
The species breeds much more reliably across the desert Southwest, similar to the populations detailed in this overview of hummingbirds in southern Arizona. Virginia sightings represent birds well outside that normal range.
4. Calliope Hummingbird
The calliope hummingbird (Selasphorus calliope) is North America’s smallest breeding hummingbird and one of the rarest to reach Virginia. Calliope Hummingbirds breed in open coniferous woodlands from British Columbia to Utah and parts of central California.
Its migration corridor runs largely along the Pacific side of the continent. The Calliope Hummingbird winters in Central America, then mainly spends its breeding season in the Pacific Northwest and parts of western Canada. An eastward-drifting individual reaching Virginia is a genuine rarity worth reporting to local birding networks.
Important Note: Calliope Hummingbirds are so rarely confirmed in Virginia that most birders will never encounter one in the state. Any suspected sighting benefits from a photo submitted to eBird for expert review.
Males put on one of the more dramatic hummingbird courtship displays anywhere in North America. Magenta rays burst from the throat of the male Calliope Hummingbird as it dances and hovers, performing U-shaped display dives for females, punctuated by a sputtering buzz and a sharp zinging call. Females and immature birds are duller, with green upperparts and light, sometimes buffy, underparts.
Breeding populations extend into mountainous parts of the Rockies, including regions profiled in this look at hummingbirds recorded in Idaho, well over a thousand miles from any confirmed Virginia sighting.
5. Rivoli’s Hummingbird
Rivoli’s hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens) stands out from every other species on this list simply because of its size. Rivoli’s Hummingbirds are rare visitors to Virginia, with only a few on record, and they are easily recognizable as they are almost twice as large as any other hummingbird species you can see in this state.
The species has gone through a couple of naming changes over the decades. Rivoli’s Hummingbird had its name changed to Magnificent Hummingbird in 1983, and in 2017 the species was split in two, returning the Rivoli’s name and naming the second species Talamanca Hummingbird. Only the Blue-throated Hummingbird outranks it in size among North American species, since the Rivoli’s Hummingbird is North America’s second-largest hummingbird.
Virginia records for this species are essentially historical at this point. Rivoli’s Hummingbird has not been seen in the state since 2003, making it one of the two most accidental species on Virginia’s checklist. Despite its bulk, it isn’t aggressive around feeders; even though it is bigger than most other hummingbirds, it does not push other birds around near flowers or feeders.
Its normal range centers on the mountains of the Southwest, an area also covered in this guide to hummingbirds found in Arizona, where sightings are considerably more dependable than in Virginia.
6. Violet-crowned Hummingbird
The violet-crowned hummingbird (Amazilia violiceps) is about as far from home as a hummingbird can get when it turns up in Virginia. Violet-crowned Hummingbirds are extremely rare vagrants that occur primarily in Mexico and the southwestern to south-central United States, though in recent years records exist of them as far east as Virginia.
Identification is fairly straightforward once you know what to look for. This hummingbird is most easily identified by its white underplumage and iridescent bluish-violet crown, an emerald green back, and a tail that is dark brown or olive green. The straight, very slender bill is reddish or orangey with a black tip, a detail that separates it from most other species that might wander into the state.
Virginia’s last confirmed record is now more than a decade and a half old. The Violet-crowned Hummingbird was last seen in the state in 2009, making it the rarest entry on this list alongside Rivoli’s. Females and immature birds look similar to males but with generally less colorful, lighter green crowns.
Like several other accidental species covered here, its normal range overlaps with the desert Southwest territory detailed in this guide to Arizona’s hummingbird populations, roughly 2,000 miles from any Virginia sighting location.
7. Allen’s Hummingbird
Allen’s hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) rounds out Virginia’s list of accidental species, and it comes from one of the most restricted breeding ranges of any North American hummingbird. The Allen’s Hummingbird is one of the key hummingbird species of California, and except for a small part of Oregon, this bird mostly breeds in coastal scrub in the Golden State.
Its coloring sets it apart from lookalikes once seen clearly. Allen’s Hummingbirds can be recognized by their orange underparts and tail combined with green upperparts, and males show a beautiful red-orange throat patch. Females carry bits of red-orange and green spotting on the throat along with orange on the rump and tail base.
The species is frequently confused with the rufous hummingbird, its closest relative and a fellow Virginia rarity. Allen’s Hummingbird has slightly more green on its crown and back than the Rufous, along with narrower outer tail feathers and a slightly downward-curved bill, and females of the two species are incredibly hard to tell apart.
| Species | Status in Virginia | Best Time to Spot |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | Common breeder | Mid-April through September |
| Rufous Hummingbird | Rare fall vagrant | Late summer through fall |
| Black-chinned Hummingbird | Accidental | Sporadic, mostly late summer |
| Calliope Hummingbird | Extremely rare | Fall migration season |
| Rivoli’s Hummingbird | Historical/accidental | No recent confirmed records |
| Violet-crowned Hummingbird | Extremely rare vagrant | No recent confirmed records |
| Allen’s Hummingbird | Accidental | Sporadic, off-season |
Allen’s breeding grounds sit along the same coastline covered in this guide to hummingbirds in Southern California, a stretch of habitat that couldn’t be more different from the Virginia backyards where a lost individual might eventually be spotted.
Regionally, hummingbird activity in Virginia concentrates in a few predictable areas. Hummingbirds are most frequently spotted in Eastern Virginia around Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and near the capital Richmond, and they are also quite common in southwestern parts of the state near Roanoke and Lynchburg. Checking the broader range of hummingbird species across North America also helps put Virginia’s mix of common residents and rare visitors into perspective, since neighboring states like Maryland’s hummingbird population face nearly identical seasonal patterns.
Drawing any of these species to a yard starts with the basics that work regardless of which species happens to pass through. A standard sugar-water mixture uses one part refined white sugar to four parts water, and feeders should go up by early spring since setting up a feeder in early April in Virginia gives arriving birds a reliable food source. Planting native, nectar-rich species helps too: Bee Balm, Cardinal Flowers, and Coral Bells are among the plants that attract hummingbirds in Virginia, and adding a few perches nearby lets territorial birds keep watch over their food source between feeding bouts.
For a full rundown of plants, feeder placement, and seasonal timing that goes beyond sugar water, this guide on what attracts hummingbirds to a yard covers the details worth knowing before spring arrivals show up.
Pro Tip: Submit any suspected rare-species sighting, especially Black-chinned, Calliope, Rivoli’s, Violet-crowned, or Allen’s, to eBird with a photo. Records without documentation rarely make it onto official state checklists.
Most Virginia birders will spend an entire season watching nothing but ruby-throated hummingbirds buzz around the feeder, and that’s perfectly normal. But keeping an eye out during migration windows, especially late summer into fall when western species are most likely to wander off course, gives every backyard a small chance at hosting something genuinely unusual.