Where Do Hummingbirds Live?
Hummingbirds live in North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean Islands. They live in habitats that contain abundant insects, plants with nectar, water and safe places for building nests. These habitats in the Western Hemisphere include suburban backyards, gardens, desert scrublands, canyons, various forests, meadows, grasslands, marshes and tropical jungles.
While there are more than 300 species of hummingbirds living in the Western Hemisphere, Ecuador alone is home to 125 different species of hummingbirds, as of 2014. Ecuador’s location near the equator and mid-range altitude allows the country to have a diverse range of plants and insects, which is important for a hummingbird habitat.
In North America, there are more varieties of hummingbirds located in the Western part of the United States. West of the Mississippi River is a diverse collection of climates ranging from mountains to deserts and tropical zones to grasslands. This diversity of climate results in a large diversity of hummingbirds. States such as Arizona, New Mexico and Texas host the widest range of hummingbird species in the country.
Hummingbirds tend to live in bushes, trees and shrubs that provide enough protection from predators. Hummingbirds do not tend to dwell in birdhouses or structures provided by homeowners seeking to encourage the birds to visit.
