Rufous Hummingbird
(Selasphorus rufus)

Overview

Summary

© Glen Tepke (www.pbase.com/gtepke)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

In Canada, the Rufous Hummingbird is a common breeding species throughout much of the western cordillera. Trends from the Breeding Bird Survey suggest a large decrease since about 1970. Causes of this long-term decline are unclear. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Reasons for apparent widespread declines are unknown. Though there are no known immediate concerns for the species considering its broad geographical range and large population size (Healy and Calder 2006), the long-term decline should continue to be monitored. Ongoing targeted hummingbird banding and monitoring in British Columbia may provide additional population information in the future (Finlay 2007).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Finlay, C. 2007. Nine years of banding and recapture of hummingbirds in southern British Columbia. British Columbia Birds 15:9-23. Finlay, C. 2007. Nine years of banding and recapture of hummingbirds in southern British Columbia. British Columbia Birds 15:9-23. (Link)
• Healy, S. and W.A. Calder. 2006. Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Healy, S. and W.A. Calder. 2006. Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)