Where is Calliope Hummingbird from?

The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest breeding bird in North America and one of the smallest birds in the world, weighing less than a nickel. These tiny hummingbirds have an expansive range across western North America and are a delight to observe with their flashy throats and energetic flight. But where exactly is the Calliope Hummingbird from and what is its native range?

Natural Range of the Calliope Hummingbird

The Calliope Hummingbird naturally breeds in an extensive region of western North America. Their breeding range extends from southern British Columbia in Canada south throughout Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. Parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas are also included in their nesting grounds.

Some key details about the Calliope Hummingbird’s breeding range include:

• They breed as far north as southern British Columbia and Alberta in Canada.
• Their range extends east to western South Dakota, western Nebraska, western Kansas, western Oklahoma, and northwest Texas.
• In the southwest, they nest as far south as southern Arizona and New Mexico.
• Along the Pacific Coast, they breed south to southern California.
• They are common summer residents and breeders in many mountain ranges and high elevation areas across the western United States.

In essence, the Calliope Hummingbird is native to the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Coast, and many other upland areas in the western half of North America.

Wintering Range

In the fall and winter, Calliope Hummingbirds migrate south and occupy a different range than their breeding grounds. Their winter range includes:

• Mexico
• Southern Arizona and New Mexico
• Southern Texas
• Southern Florida

Some Calliope Hummingbirds even winter as far south as Panama in Central America, though most spend the winter in western Mexico. In the United States, southern Arizona and southern Texas host significant wintering populations of Calliope Hummingbirds.

Migration Routes

In both spring and fall, Calliope Hummingbirds embark on a strenuous migration to move between their breeding and wintering grounds. They follow certain flyways and migration routes across western North America:

• In spring, they fan out across the Rocky Mountains and follow mountain passes northward as they return to breeding areas.
• In fall, they migrate south along two main corridors – down the Pacific Coast or through the Rocky Mountains into Mexico.
• Some birds also migrate east across Texas and the Gulf Coast to reach wintering grounds in Mexico or Florida.

Tracking data and banding recoveries have mapped out these migration pathways used by Calliope Hummingbirds each year as they travel between their nesting habitat and winter territory.

Year-Round Range

Though they migrate seasonally, there are a few areas where Calliope Hummingbirds can be found year-round. These include:

• Southern Arizona – Tucson and southeast Arizona
• Southern New Mexico – Gila region
• Southern Texas – Chisos Mountains, Davis Mountains
• Southern Florida

In these warm climates, some Calliope Hummingbirds forego migration and take up year-round residence. Food availability through ornamental plantings and feeders may help support these year-round populations.

Range Expansions

In recent decades, Calliope Hummingbirds have expanded their range eastward into new areas of the Midwestern United States. Possible reasons include climate change, the proliferation of backyard feeding, and forest clearance opening new habitat.

Areas of new range expansion include:

• Minnesota
• Wisconsin
• Michigan
• Ontario
• Illinois
• Missouri
• Indiana
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• New York

Most of these remain occasional sightings, but some locations have seen multiple records in recent years, suggesting a range shift is underway for the tiny Calliope Hummingbird.

Key Habitats

Within its broad natural range across western North America, Calliope Hummingbirds occupy a variety of habitat types. Some key habitats for this species include:

• Mountain meadows – alpine and subalpine meadows with abundant wildflowers are preferred breeding habitat.
• Riparian areas – forests and shrubs along streamsides and river bottoms provide nest sites.
• Pine-oak woodlands – montane pine and pine-oak forests are used, especially at higher elevations.
• Chaparral – dense shrublands along the Pacific Coast and in the southwest deserts provide habitat.
• Backyards – increasingly a habitat supplemented with feeders and ornamental plantings.

Within these environments, the availability of nectar sources and protected nest sites help define prime Calliope Hummingbird habitat.

Countries of Occurrence

The breeding, wintering, and migration range of the Calliope Hummingbird encompasses parts of the following countries:

• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Guatemala
• El Salvador
• Honduras
• Nicaragua
• Costa Rica
• Panama

The majority of the population breeds in the United States and Canada before migrating through the U.S. and wintering primarily in Mexico. Small numbers reach Central America.

Breeding Locations

The Calliope Hummingbird breeds in habitat across the following states and provinces:

Origins and Genetics

The evolutionary origins of Calliope Hummingbirds trace back to ancestral hummingbird species that likely originated in South America tens of millions of years ago before dispersing northward into North America. Key aspects of their evolutionary history include:

• They belong to the bee hummingbird clade, named for their closest relative – the Bee Hummingbird of Cuba.
• Genetic evidence suggests divergence from the Bee Hummingbird clade approximately 6 million years ago.
• Fossils trace hummingbirds in North America to over 30 million years ago.
• They are well-adapted to mountain habitats and cooler climates.
• There are four recognized subspecies of the Calliope Hummingbird across different regions.

Ongoing research uses genetic analysis and studies of fossil forms to uncover new details about Calliope Hummingbird origins and taxonomy.

Genetic Relationships

Genetic analysis has helped clarify the evolutionary relationships of the Calliope Hummingbird to other hummingbird species. Key findings show:

• They belong to the bee hummingbird clade along with Anna’s Hummingbird and other western North American species.
• Their closest living relative is the Bee Hummingbird of Cuba, despite living thousands of miles apart today.
• They diverged from a common ancestor with the Bee Hummingbird approximately 6 million years ago.
• There are four recognized subspecies across different parts of their range – C. c. calliope, C. c. pamlica, C. c. emilyae, and C. c. titania.

Ongoing research will continue to elucidate the evolutionary history of Calliope Hummingbirds as new analytic techniques emerge.

Conclusion

In summary, the Calliope Hummingbird is native to an extensive region across the western half of North America. Their breeding range centers on the Rocky Mountains and other upland areas from Canada south into Mexico. They migrate along the Pacific Coast and through the Rockies to winter primarily in Mexico. In recent decades, they have expanded eastward into the Midwest as well. Within their widespread range, they inhabit mountaintops, river corridors, woodlands, and chaparral environments where they can find food sources and nesting sites. Their small size, flashy throats, and high-altitude lifestyle make them a fascinating and beloved hummingbird species.