Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird has increased: up 28% on the route-weighted index since 1968.
About the Ruby-throated Hummingbird
The only hummingbird that breeds widely in the East, the tiny Ruby-throated Hummingbird crosses the Gulf of Mexico on migration and visits flowers and feeders for nectar.
- Size
- 3–3.5 in long, about 0.1 oz (7–9 cm, 3 g)
- Habitat
- Woodlands and forest edges, including wooded suburbs and parks.
- Diet
- Flower nectar and small insects and spiders.
- Range
- Recorded on 2,251 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 37 states, most concentrated in the Appalachian Mountains.
- Family
- Trochilidae · Forest birds
- Conservation
- Least Concern
Notable Ruby-throated Hummingbird Trends
No notable trend signals for Ruby-throated Hummingbird. See the full index history below.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Ruby-throated Hummingbird is projected to rise about 53% by 2029 — from 0.32 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.49 (95% range 0.39–0.58). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±23.1%, with 60% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.47 | 0.38 | 0.57 |
| 2026 | 0.47 | 0.38 | 0.57 |
| 2027 | 0.48 | 0.39 | 0.57 |
| 2028 | 0.48 | 0.39 | 0.58 |
| 2029 | 0.49 | 0.39 | 0.58 |
Where the Ruby-throated Hummingbird Is Detected
BBS routes recording Ruby-throated Hummingbird, sized by most recent count.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Population Trend by State
| Alabama | +67% | 1968 | 100 |
| Arkansas | -11% | 1969 | 57 |
| Connecticut | +126% | 1973 | 19 |
| Delaware | +188% | 1968 | 17 |
| Florida | -17% | 1968 | 66 |
| Georgia | -23% | 1968 | 102 |
| Illinois | 14× | 1968 | 95 |
| Indiana | -23% | 1968 | 64 |
| Iowa | +391% | 1970 | 21 |
| Kansas | +460% | 1969 | 33 |
| Kentucky | +27% | 1968 | 64 |
| Louisiana | +22% | 1969 | 87 |
| Maine | -15% | 1969 | 72 |
| Maryland | +169% | 1968 | 71 |
| Massachusetts | +371% | 1969 | 31 |
| Michigan | +337% | 1969 | 98 |
| Minnesota | +94% | 1969 | 70 |
| Mississippi | +47% | 1968 | 66 |
| Missouri | +486% | 1969 | 90 |
| Nebraska | insufficient data | n/a | 6 |
| New Hampshire | +119% | 1968 | 26 |
| New Jersey | +330% | 1970 | 31 |
| New York | +145% | 1968 | 119 |
| North Carolina | +52% | 1968 | 107 |
| North Dakota | +1% | 1982 | 8 |
| Ohio | +338% | 1968 | 84 |
| Oklahoma | -44% | 1969 | 48 |
| Pennsylvania | +404% | 1968 | 130 |
| Rhode Island | +251% | 1991 | 5 |
| South Carolina | -65% | 1968 | 47 |
| South Dakota | insufficient data | n/a | 1 |
| Tennessee | +138% | 1968 | 55 |
| Texas | -28% | 1969 | 91 |
| Vermont | +11% | 1968 | 26 |
| Virginia | +98% | 1968 | 85 |
| West Virginia | +53% | 1968 | 62 |
| Wisconsin | +280% | 1968 | 97 |
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| Prairie Potholes | -40% | 1975 | 23 |
| Boreal Hardwood Transition | +306% | 1968 | 118 |
| Lower Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Plain | +157% | 1968 | 81 |
| Atlantic Northern Forest | +34% | 1968 | 148 |
| Central Mixed Grass Prairie | -63% | 1969 | 22 |
| Oaks and Prairies | -40% | 1969 | 57 |
| Eastern Tallgrass Prairie | +419% | 1968 | 239 |
| Prairie Hardwood Transition | +197% | 1968 | 155 |
| Central Hardwoods | +168% | 1968 | 164 |
| West Gulf Coastal Plain / Ouachitas | -17% | 1969 | 103 |
| Mississippi Alluvial Valley | -44% | 1968 | 66 |
| Southeastern Coastal Plain | +28% | 1968 | 313 |
| Appalachian Mountains | +141% | 1968 | 392 |
| Piedmont | +58% | 1968 | 154 |
| New England / Mid-Atlantic Coast | +150% | 1968 | 144 |
| Peninsular Florida | -75% | 1970 | 34 |
| Gulf Coastal Prairie | -77% | 1971 | 32 |
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Conservation Status
Least Concern
The IUCN Red List rates this species as Least Concern. Our route-weighted index shows it up about 28% since 1968.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.