Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus

Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, Female. Photograph taken within a residential community in Hereford, Arizona, March 2006. Photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Behrstock, Sierra Vista, Arizona (naturewideimages.com).

Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, Female. Photograph taken in Copala, Sinaloa, February 2019. Photograph and identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, Females. Photographs taken within the greater Palm Springs area of southern California, March 2021. Photography courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, Male. Bird photographed within the confines of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, Arizona, February, 2022. Photograph courtesy of Carol Snow, Del Mar, California. Identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, Male. Photograph taken Alamos, Sonora, February 2019. Photograph and  identification courtesy of David F Smith, Alamos, Sonora.

Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, Male. Photograph taken in the greater Santa Ynez region of California, March 2011. Photograph courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, Male. Photographs taken within the South Coast Botanic Gardens, Palos Verde Estates, California, August 2020. Photographs and identifications courtesy of Dr. Tom Bartol, Carlsbad, California.

The Rufous Hummingbird, Selasphorus rufus, is a member of the Trochilidae Family of Hummingbirds. They are small in stature. In Mexico they are winter visitors to all of the northern parts of the country as far south as Guerrero and Veracruz at elevations below 3,000 m (9,800 feet). From a conservation perspective the Rufous Hummingbird is currently considered to be of Least Concern with stable, widely distributed populations.  They are found in both arid and humid oak and fir forests. They consume insects and nectar from a wide variety of flowers.