Montana Field Guide

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Montana Field Guides

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- Kingdom - Animals - Animalia
  - Phylum - Vertebrates - Craniata
    - Class - Birds - Aves
      - Order - Hummingbirds / Swifts - Apodiformes
        
        Family - Hummingbirds - Trochilidae
        
        Species - Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Archilochus colubris

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Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: SNA

Agency Status
USFWS: MBTA
USFS:
BLM:
PIF:

External Links

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General Description

The Ruby-throated Hummingbird breeds from Alberta through Eastern Canada and in the US from North Dakota south to Texas and east throughout the entire Eastern United States. The species winters from the southern Great Plains to the Gulf Coast and into Mexico. The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is a rare summer breeder in eastern Montana with fewer than six observations in a typical year (Weidensaul et al. 2013, MTNHP 2019).

For a comprehensive review of the conservation status, habitat use, and ecology of this and other Montana bird species, please see Marks et al. 2016, Birds of Montana.

Species Range

Montana Range Range Descriptions

All Ranges

Summer

Migratory

(Click legend blocks to view individual ranges)

Western Hemisphere Range

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database

Number of Observations: 118

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions

Relative Density

Recency

SUMMER (Feb 16 - Dec 14)

Direct Evidence of Breeding

Indirect Evidence of Breeding

No Evidence of Breeding

WINTER (Dec 15 - Feb 15)

Regularly Observed

Not Regularly Observed

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)

National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species

Forest and Woodland

Deciduous Forest and Woodland

Great Plains Aspen Forest and Woodland

Great Plains Mesic Forest and Woodland

Shrubland

Sagebrush Shrubland

Basin and Wyoming Big (Threetip) Sagebrush Shrubland

Grassland

Lowland - Prairie Grassland

Great Plains Dry Mixedgrass Prairie

Great Plains Mesic Mixedgrass Prairie

Great Plains Sand Prairie

Great Plains Solonetzic Grassland

Semi-Desert Grassland

Wetland and Riparian

Alkaline - Saline Wetlands

Greasewood Shrubland

Great Plains Saline Marsh and Wet Meadow

Intermountain Alkaline - Saline Grassland and Meadow

Peatland

Great Plains Alkaline Fen

Riparian and Wetland Forest

Great Plains Floodplain Forest

Riparian Shrubland

Great Plains Floodplain Shrubland and Herbland

Wet Meadow and Marsh

Arid West Freshwater Marsh and Wet Meadow

Great Plains Freshwater Marsh

Great Plains Wet Meadow, Marsh and Shrub Swamp

Great Plains Wet Meadow, Riparian Shrubland and Fen

Human Land Use

Developed

Developed - Low and Medium Intensity

Developed - Vegetation

Reproductive Characteristics

Only one nesting record - 1956 at Bowdoin NWR.

Stewardship Responsibility

References

Literature Cited AboveLegend: View Online Publication
- [MTNHP] Montana Natural Heritage Program. 2019. Point observation database. Helena, MT.
- Marks, J.S., P. Hendricks, and D. Casey. 2016. Birds of Montana. Arrington, VA. Buteo Books. 659 pages.
- Weidensaul, S., T.R. Robinson, R.R. Sargent, and M.B. Sargent. 2013. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi-org.weblib.lib.umt.edu:2443/10.2173/bna.204
Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
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- American Ornithologists’ Union [AOU]. 1998. Check-list of North American birds, 7th edition. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C. 829 p.
- Cameron, E. S. 1907. The birds of Custer and Dawson counties, Montana. Auk 24(3):389-406.
- Dobkin, D. S. 1992. Neotropical migrant landbirds in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains. U.S.D.A. For. Serv. N. Region Publ. R1-93-34. Missoula, Mont.
- Dobkin, D.S. 1994. Conservation and management of neotropical migrant landbirds in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains. Univ. Idaho Press, Moscow, Idaho. 220 pp.
- Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster Inc. New York. 785 pp.
- Faanes, C.A. 1983. Avian use of forest habitats in the Pembina Hills of northeastern North Dakota. Resource Publ. 151. Washington, D.C.: U.S.D.I. Fish and Wildlife Service. 24 p.
- Hays, R., R.L. Eng, and C.V. Davis (preparers). 1984. A list of Montana birds. Helena, MT: MT Dept. of Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
- Johnsgard, P.A. 1983. Hummingbirds of North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 304 pp.
- Johnsgard, P.A. 1992. Birds of the Rocky Mountains with particular reference to national parks in the northern Rocky Mountain region. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. xi + 504 pp.
- Joslin, Gayle, and Heidi B. Youmans. 1999. Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana. [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
- Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution, 6th edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, MT. 144 pp.
- Montana Bird Distribution Committee. 2012. P.D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution. 7th Edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, Montana. 208 pp. + foldout map.
- Ralph, J.C., J.R. Sauer, and S. Droege. 1995. Monitoring bird populations by point counts. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-149. Albany, CA: USDA Pacific Southwest Research Station. 181 p.
- Robinson, T.R., R.R. Sargent, and M.B. Sargent. 1996. Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). Species Account Number 204. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved 3/25/2008 from The Birds of North America Online database
- Sibley, D. 2014. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 598 pp.
- Skaar, P. D., D. L. Flath, and L. S. Thompson. 1985. Montana bird distribution. Montana Academy of Sciences Monograph 3(44): ii-69.
- Skaar, P.D. 1969. Birds of the Bozeman latilong: a compilation of data concerning the birds which occur between 45 and 46 N. latitude and 111 and 112 W. longitude, with current lists for Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, impinging Montana counties and Yellowstone National Park. Bozeman, MT. 132 p.
- Stewart, R.E. 1975. Breeding birds of North Dakota. Tri-College Center for Environmental Studies, Fargo, North Dakota. 295 pp.
- U.S. Forest Service. 1991. Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and habitat use. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Agricultural Handbook 688. 625 pages.
- Wright, P.L. 1996. Status of rare birds in Montana, with comments on known hybrids. Northwestern Naturalist 77(3):57-85.
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Citation for data on this website:
Ruby-throated Hummingbird — Archilochus colubris. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Retrieved on December 13, 2025, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=ABNUC45010