Selasphorus rufus
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) is a small hummingbird, about 8 cm (3 in) long with a long, straight and slender bill. These birds are known for their extraordinary flight skills, flying 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles) during their migratory transits. It is one of nine species in the genus Selasphorus.
The rufous hummingbird was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with all the other hummingbirds in the genus Trochilus. He coined the binomial name Trochilus rufus. Gmelin based his description on the ruff-necked hummingbird described by John Latham in 1782 and the ruffed honeysucker described by Thomas Pennant in 1785.
The type locality given by Gmelin was Nootka Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island in western Canada. However, breeding was estimated to occur in northwestern North America and wintering in westcentral Mexico. The rufous hummingbird is now placed with eight other species in the genus Selasphorus that was introduced in 1832 by the English naturalist William Swainson. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek selas meaning... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Butterfly World | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Hummingbird sighting in Death Valley National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 188th most-seen of the 213 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rufous Hummingbird in Death Valley National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months. That is one of Death Valley National Park's driest months, with about 5 mm of rain against 30 mm in March.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rufous Hummingbird sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
16th of 22
Of the 22 parks where we can rate Rufous Hummingbird sightings, Death Valley National Park ranks 16th at under 5%. The best odds are in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Canada, about 30%), Glacier National Park (United States, about 20%) and Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, about 20%).
Same family: Trochilidae
The closest relatives of the Rufous Hummingbird that you can see in Death Valley National Park (family Trochilidae, Hummingbirds) are Anna's Hummingbird (about 30%) and Costa's Hummingbird (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rufous Hummingbird is recorded against all the birds logged in Death Valley National Park (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
