Calypte costae
Status: Rare casual fall visitor.
Documentation: Photograph: 11-15 Nov 2001 Lexington, Dawson Co (Jorgensen 2003).
Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025).
Fall: There are five records:
5 Sep-23 Oct 2013, immature male photographed Lake McConaughy, Keith Co (Brogie 2014)
16 Sep-second week Oct 2010 photographed Gretna, Sarpy Co (Brogie 2017)
16-18 Sep 2026 Gering, Scotts Bluff Co (DaRugna, Brenner, eBird,org)
ca 7 Oct-15 Nov 2001, immature male photographed Lexington (Jorgensen 2003)
29 Oct-17 Nov 2025 immature male photographed Lincoln, Lancaster Co (Jorgensen, Munson; eBird Checklist – 12 Nov 2025; Brogie 2026).
Comments: Baltosser and Scott (2020) stated that “Regarded as sedentary until recently, the species has proved remarkable in dispersal ability, with sporadic or vagrant occurrences north to Alaska, east to Kansas, and south at least to the Mexican state of Jalisco.” Williamson (2001) commented “Much of its life remains a mystery, particularly its travels during the non-breeding season”.
The four Nebraska records are in late fall, Sep-Nov, as are nine of the 10 dated records in eBird for the Great Plains (South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma), the exception a May 2004 record in northeastern Colorado (eBird.org, accessed Nov 2025). The only records east of the Great Plains are single records for Michigan, Alabama, and Florida (eBird.org, accessed Nov 2025).
Images
Abbreviations
CBRC: Colorado Bird Records Committee
Literature Cited
AviList Core Team, 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025.
Baltosser, W.H. and P.E. Scott. 2020. Costa’s Hummingbird (Calypte costae), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.coshum.01.
Brogie, M.A. 2014. 2013 (25th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 82: 131-146.
Brogie, M.A. 2017. 2016 (28th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 85: 128-142.
Brogie, M.A. 2026. 2025 (37th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 94: 69-75.
Colorado Bird Records Committee [CBRC]. 2017. Costa Hummingbird records. Colorado Bird Records Committee database, accessed 18 February 2018.
Faulkner, D.W. 2010. Birds of Wyoming. Roberts and Company, Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA.
Iowa Ornithologists’ Union. 2017. Costa’s Hummingbird records. Iowa Records Committee reports of Iowa rare bird records, accessed 21 February 2018.
Jorgensen, J.G. 2003. 2001 (13th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 71: 97-102.
Silcock, W.R. 2016. Fall Field Report, August-November 2016. NBR 84: 154-179.
Tallman, D.A., Swanson, D.L., and J.S. Palmer. 2002. Birds of South Dakota. Midstates/Quality Quick Print, Aberdeen, South Dakota, USA.
Thompson, M.C., C.A. Ely, B. Gress, C. Otte, S.T. Patti, D. Seibel, and E.A. Young. 2011. Birds of Kansas. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA.
Recommended Citation
Silcock, W.R., and J.G. Jorgensen. 2026. Costa’s Hummingbird (Calypte costae), Version 1.0. In Birds of Nebraska — Online. www.BirdsofNebraska.org
Birds of Nebraska – Online
Updated 18 Sep 2026