Birds
Anna's Hummingbird
Calypte anna · also called Anna's hummingbirds
High above a chaparral hillside, a male Anna’s hummingbird climbs steeply before plunging downward in a dramatic dive, pulling up at the last possible moment as his tail feathers produce a sudden, sharp chirp audible well before he ever opens his beak.
Overview
Anna’s hummingbird, Calypte anna, is a striking, year-round resident hummingbird native to forest edge, chaparral, and garden habitat along the Pacific coast and adjacent regions of the western United States and Mexico. Its dramatic sound-producing courtship dive and expanding range, aided by backyard gardens and feeders, make it one of the more behaviourally spectacular and increasingly widespread hummingbirds in North America.
A sound made by falling, not singing
Rather than relying purely on vocal calls to impress a mate, a male Anna’s hummingbird lets physics do part of the work, engineering a dive precise enough that his own tail feathers produce the dramatic chirp that closes out the display.
Status
Least Concern, increasing — expanding across forest edge, chaparral, and garden habitat along the Pacific coast and adjacent regions, aided by ornamental gardening and backyard feeders.
Anna's Hummingbird: common questions
How does a male Anna's hummingbird make a chirping sound during its courtship dive?
A male Anna's hummingbird climbs high into the air before diving steeply and pulling up sharply near the bottom of the dive, and this abrupt manoeuvre forces air through specialised outer tail feathers, producing a loud chirping sound entirely through airflow rather than the bird's vocal cords.
Does Anna's hummingbird migrate south for winter?
Not typically — Anna's hummingbird remains present year-round across much of its range, unlike many other North American hummingbird species that migrate south for winter, a tolerance for cooler conditions that has helped support its recent range expansion.
Why has Anna's hummingbird expanded its range so much recently?
Anna's hummingbird has expanded its range significantly in recent decades, aided by the widespread planting of ornamental flowering plants and the popularity of backyard hummingbird feeders, both of which provide reliable food sources well beyond the species' traditional native range.
Where does Anna's hummingbird live?
Anna's hummingbird is native to forest edge, chaparral, and garden habitat along the Pacific coast and adjacent regions of the western United States and Mexico, and its range continues to expand alongside human gardening activity.