What is a Group of Hummingbirds Called? (Complete Guide)

Known for their graceful hovering abilities and stunningly colorful plumage, hummingbirds from the family Nymphalidae Consists of 361 unusual species that live only in the Americas. This is a wide range of individual species, but what is a group of hummingbirds called?

The most common collective noun for a flock of hummingbirds is charm — an apt name given their diminutive size. Other popular collective nouns include shimmer and hummingbird bouquet.

but it is not the truth! Read on to learn more about the fascinating social behavior of hummingbirds.

Other terms for a flock of hummingbirds

• bunch of hummingbirds
• hummingbird chatter
• hummingbird charm
• hummingbird drum
• sparkling hummingbird
• hummingbird hovering
• Hummingbird Shimmer
• disturbing hummingbird
• hummingbird melody

Many of these collective nouns are quite poetic in their descriptions of hummingbirds.

Hover is pretty self-explanatory, but drum refers to the drum-like sound of a hummingbird’s wings beating — though you have to be pretty close to hear it!

After mating — which takes a few seconds — the male usually leaves the premises. This is typical of hummingbirds – they are highly independent and solitary throughout the year.

Three female ruby-throated hummingbirds

Do hummingbirds congregate in flocks?

Although there are 361 known species of hummingbirds, the vast majority never form a colony for longer than a brief moment while feeding.

Hummingbirds are solitary birds that are also very territorial and will drive away other hummingbirds that feed within their territory. It is still possible for multiple hummingbirds to feed from the same source.

Hummingbirds’ solitary behavior even extends to breeding. Ruby-throated and Calliope hummingbirds, for example, only socialize briefly during courtship, lasting only a few minutes.

flock of hummingbirds feeding together

Do hummingbirds flock during migration?

It is often surprising to learn that many species of hummingbirds are highly migratory, even though they have small wings and small bodies. In fact, the Calliope hummingbird, measuring just 7.5 centimeters (3 inches), is considered the smallest and lightest migratory animal on Earth, migrating during winter from as far north as Canada to as far south as Mexico and Central America.

The black-jawed hummingbird is another species that migrates thousands of miles south from its breeding grounds to wintering grounds in Central America. Rufous hummingbirds also make the 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometer) journey across the Rocky Mountains, a particularly perilous journey from their northernmost breeding grounds in Alaska.

Perhaps the most impressive is the ruby-throated hummingbird, which can fly about 500 to 1,200 miles non-stop, which is pretty incredible for a bird weighing only 3 grams.

The most interesting aspect of all these migration journeys is that hummingbirds travel alone during the journey. Much to the confusion of researchers, hummingbirds have an innate ability to migrate alone—they don’t seem to learn their journeys by observation. However, they do sometimes travel alone with other larger birds, but certainly not for the entire duration of the trip.

A pair of ruby-throated hummingbirds perched together

Do hummingbirds congregate during breeding season?

A lesser known hummingbird behavior is lek mating. Lek mating involves multiple males congregating in the same area and competing for females, usually through some sort of synchronized behavior.

Both the swallow-tailed hummingbird and the Gay hermit hummingbird have been observed forming leks, in which multiple birds sing the same bird song in unison, some of which then move on to the next stage of courtship, which may involve some sort of dance.

Lekking doesn’t really mean that hummingbirds flock together per se, but it’s an example of complex social behavior among other solitary hummingbirds.

How many hummingbirds are there in Charms?

In some cases, hummingbirds forage together in food-rich tropical and rainforest habitats and around garden bird feeders. This video of hummingbirds foraging together (or possibly a bunch) was filmed in Ecuador.

If you do see more than a few hummingbirds together for any sustained period of time without one chasing the other, you might be lucky.

Having said that, people do manage to attract multiple hummingbirds to their gardens – often mixed species.

A flock of hummingbirds next to a backyard feeder

Do hummingbirds flock?

It is very rare for hummingbirds to spend any sustained amount of time in a colony. Even during breeding season, male and female hummingbirds don’t usually form pairs — males tend to be polygamous and leave the area soon after mating.

However, male hummingbirds do tend to put a lot of energy into the courtship ritual itself, as in the case of anna hummingbird males swooping and swooping around females at around 60 mph. Mating usually takes place in mid-air and lasts only 2 to 5 seconds. This is pretty much all the social contact that hummingbirds have, except through rearing the chicks and briefly feeding together from the same food source.

What is a pair of hummingbirds called?

A pair of hummingbirds has no specific name. Hummingbirds are polygamous, with the males typically spending minimal time with the females, who then take over all parenting duties, including nest building and feeding.

Both males and females lead solitary, territorial lives and often attack each other and even other small animals or insects that also occupy their territory.

It is worth mentioning that the behavior of many hummingbirds is poorly documented because they are small, cryptic birds that live in bushy habitats. However, it is likely that no species of hummingbird is monogamous.

A pair of hummingbirds fight for territory

Why do hummingbirds live alone?

Many birds are solitary, including sandpipers, flycatchers, flycatchers, warblers and robins. Some advantages of solitary behavior include increased autonomy in choosing nesting sites and food — each bird can make its own independent decisions without having to follow the flock.

One of the key reasons why hummingbirds evolved solitary behavior may be to increase the likelihood of successful breeding, since males can mate with multiple females during the breeding season. Due to the small nest size, this may be an advantage given the relatively short lifespan of these chicks.

What is a flock of baby hummingbirds called?

A colony of hummingbird chicks does not have a specific collective term; instead, they are often referred to as fledglings, fledglings, fledglings, or fledglings, depending on the stage of life they are in.

To learn when these names are used for baby birds, check out this article.