Hummingbirds in Mississippi keep a tighter schedule than most of us. The Ruby-throateds show up in March, work the yard all summer, and leave in fall with zero forwarding address. Then, while everyone's feeders are packed away in the garage, a handful of western hummingbirds quietly move in for the winter. (They don't send a forwarding address either. It's a whole family trait.)
Here's when hummingbirds come and go in Mississippi, which species to look for, when to hang and take down feeders, and which plants keep them coming back.
Hummingbirds in Mississippi at a Glance
| Species | When you'll see it | How common |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | March through October | Common, the only species that nests here |
| Rufous Hummingbird | Fall through early spring | Uncommon, the most common winter hummingbird |
| Black-chinned and Buff-bellied Hummingbirds | Winter, mostly near the coast | Rare |
| Calliope, Broad-tailed, Anna's, Allen's and Broad-billed Hummingbirds | Winter | Very rare, sightings need documentation |
Types of Hummingbirds in Mississippi
If you're asking how many types of hummingbirds live in Mississippi, the honest answer is one, plus a rotating cast of winter guests.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird. According to Mississippi State University Extension, it's the only hummingbird known to breed east of the Mississippi River, so it's the one at your feeder from spring through fall. Males have the glittering red throat. Females lack it but share the same green back and white belly, and MSU notes the adults weigh less than a nickel.
Rufous Hummingbird. A western bird that has become the most common wintering hummingbird in the eastern U.S. Adult males are rusty orange with a reddish-orange throat, and females have green backs with rufous flanks. Rufous are famously feisty, so one bird can hold an entire feeder hostage.
The rarities. The Mississippi Ornithological Society keeps the official state checklist and a review list of species so rare that sightings need documentation. Its review list includes Anna's, Calliope, Allen's, Broad-tailed and Broad-billed Hummingbirds. Black-chinned and Buff-bellied Hummingbirds are a notch more regular but still rare.
When Do Hummingbirds Come to Mississippi?
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds return to Mississippi from south to north in March, after crossing the Gulf of Mexico or following the coast from Central America. In spring 2025, Journey North's migration recap logged reports from Mississippi and the other Gulf states in the first two weeks of March. MSU Extension's Bird of the Month profile says most have arrived by the end of March, with some northern parts of the state waiting until early April.
Approximate arrival dates by region:
| Region | First Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (approximate) |
|---|---|
| Gulf Coast and south Mississippi | Early March |
| Central Mississippi (Jackson, Meridian) | Mid to late March |
| North Mississippi (Tupelo, Oxford, Southaven) | Late March to early April |
These shift by a week or two depending on the spring. Locals in north Mississippi have long said the hummingbirds arrive when Red Buckeye blooms, though Strawberry Plains Audubon Center noticed that in one mild year the buckeye bloomed weeks early and the birds stuck to their usual calendar. Hummingbirds, it turns out, don't take cues from shrubs.
How long do hummingbirds stay in Mississippi?
Roughly seven months. Ruby-throateds arrive in March, nest through summer, and most are gone by late fall. Expect a lull at feeders in midsummer, when nesting females are busy catching insects (Audubon says insects make up 60 to 80 percent of their diet), followed by a rush in late summer as migrants pass through.
When Do Hummingbirds Leave Mississippi?
Most Ruby-throated Hummingbirds leave Mississippi in September and October. Late August and September are the busiest weeks, when local birds fuel up and northern migrants pour through on their way to the Gulf. MSU Extension's fall migration guide, working from Cornell Lab of Ornithology data, puts the fall migration window around September 27 to October 4 for most of the state and about a week later, October 4 to 11, on the coast.
So if your feeder goes quiet in October, you didn't do anything wrong. They just caught their flight.
The North Mississippi Hummingbird Festival
For more than two decades, the Hummingbird Migration Celebration at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center in Holly Springs was the state's big September hummingbird event, complete with live hummingbird banding. The Holly Springs festival was discontinued in 2023, but the tradition moved up the road: Southaven now hosts the North Mississippi Hummingbird Festival at Snowden Grove Park, which held its second annual festival in September 2026 with talks on hummingbirds, native plants and backyard birding.
Mississippi Winter Hummingbirds
Here's the part most people miss. Every year a few western hummingbirds spend the winter in Mississippi instead of Mexico. National Audubon's Erik Johnson told the Associated Press that the Rufous is the most common wintering hummingbird in the eastern U.S., and that small numbers of Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, Buff-bellied and Calliope Hummingbirds also winter along the Gulf Coast. One Vicksburg birder in the same story hosted a Rufous that stayed from Thanksgiving until April.
Naturalist Mark LaSalle, writing for Our Mississippi Home, says winter visitors usually come one at a time, often return to the same feeders year after year, and can take a while to find yours. Patience is the whole strategy.
The other half of the strategy is flowers. For gardens south of I-10, Johnson suggests Firebush, Firespike, Cuphea and Salvia, which can keep going through winter as long as there's no freeze. Firebush is native to Florida rather than Mississippi, but it handles Gulf Coast heat with zero complaints and pumps out orange-red tubes for months.
If a hummingbird shows up between November and February, it's almost certainly not a Ruby-throated. Get a photo if you can and log it, because winter records help birders track how these western species are spreading east.
When to Put Out Hummingbird Feeders in Mississippi
MSU Extension's Southern Gardening column says you can set feeders out in early March. Based on the arrival dates above, have yours up by early March on the coast and in south Mississippi, and by mid-March everywhere else. A week early costs you a little sugar. A week late costs you the first hungry arrivals.
When to take hummingbird feeders down in Mississippi
Later than you think. MSU Extension says coastal residents can keep feeders up into late fall and early winter, and everyone else should watch for hummingbird activity before taking feeders down. A common rule of thumb is to wait until you've seen no hummingbirds for about two weeks.
Better yet, leave one feeder up all winter. Johnson says feeding in cold months doesn't harm the birds, and it's the single best way to attract a Mississippi winter hummingbird. No, it won't trap your Ruby-throateds here. They leave on their own schedule, feeder or no feeder.
Feeder basics
- Mix 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water, boil until the sugar dissolves, and let it cool. MSU says red food coloring isn't needed, and honey or brown sugar are out. Our hummingbird food recipe walks through it.
- In hot weather, change the nectar every 2 to 3 days, and toss it sooner if it turns cloudy.
- Clean the feeder about twice a week in summer and once a week when it's below 80 degrees, per MSU Extension. Our guide to features every hummingbird feeder needs covers which designs are easiest to scrub.
- Hang it in a shaded spot out of reach of cats, near a shrub or tree where birds can perch and wait their turn.
Native Plants That Attract Hummingbirds in Mississippi
Feeders are the snack bar. Plants are the full restaurant, and they bring the tiny insects hummingbirds need for protein, too. On MDWFP's Mississippi Outdoors podcast, biologist Mark LaSalle names crossvine, red buckeye, coral honeysuckle, coral bean, trumpet creeper, cardinal flower and salvias as better hummingbird draws than feeders alone. Here are six top picks. For all 12, with growing notes, see Mississippi Hummingbird Plants: 12 Best Flowers and Vines to Grow.
Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia)
Red Buckeye is one of the first red-flowered natives to bloom in Mississippi, and MSU Extension says hummingbirds follow its bloom on their way north. It's a small understory tree that takes part shade, so it fills the shady corners most hummingbird plants won't tolerate.
Coral Bean (Erythrina herbacea)
Also called Cherokee Bean, Coral Bean sends up spikes of scarlet, sword-shaped flowers in spring, right when Ruby-throateds are arriving. The bright red seeds are poisonous, so plant it away from curious kids and pets.
Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata)
A vigorous native climber with orange trumpets and yellow throats in spring. It covers a fence in a season or two and makes a well-behaved stand-in for Trumpet Vine.
Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Also sold as Coral Honeysuckle, this native evergreen vine has red tubular flowers that fit a hummingbird's bill in both shape and color. Don't confuse it with Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), the fragrant white-flowered vine that has escaped onto Mississippi roadsides. Check the tag for sempervirens. Add a hummingbird bird bath nearby and you've built a full-service rest stop.
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Many insects struggle to get into Cardinal Flower's blooms, which leaves the nectar to hummingbirds. Its scarlet spikes peak in late summer and fall, right on time for migration, and it's practically a beacon for hummingbirds. Give it moist soil and part shade.
Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinea)
Tropical Sage blooms scarlet from late spring until frost, bridging the summer lull and carrying your yard through fall migration. It reseeds itself, handles Mississippi heat, and beats most of the non-native salvias on garden-center shelves.
Plant for every season
Mix plants that bloom at different times so there's nectar from March to frost: Red Buckeye and Coral Bean in early spring, Trumpet Honeysuckle and Crossvine in spring, Cardinal Flower and Tropical Sage through fall. Hummingbirds are territorial, so MSU recommends spreading flowers across several spots rather than one bed. Group the same plant in clumps so they're easy to spot from the air, and use companion planting to keep the whole garden healthy.
Skip the Big-Box "Hummingbird Garden" Display
The "hummingbird garden" endcap at a big-box store is mostly non-natives: Butterfly Bush, generic Lantana (Lantana camara, a non-native that's toxic to livestock), and showy cultivars bred for the catalog photo rather than nectar. They do little for Mississippi's insects, which are half the reason hummingbirds visit a yard in the first place.
The Mississippi Native Plant Society keeps a list of about two dozen in-state nurseries that sell natives. For the rest of the habitat picture, see our guides on how to attract hummingbirds and pesticide alternatives that won't wipe out the bugs hummingbirds eat.
Hummingbirds in Mississippi FAQ
When do hummingbirds come back to Mississippi?
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds return in March. They reach the coast and south Mississippi in early March, central Mississippi by mid to late March, and parts of north Mississippi in early April. Have feeders up by early to mid-March.
When do hummingbirds leave Mississippi?
Most leave in September and October, after a late-summer peak. MSU Extension puts fall migration around late September to early October for most of the state and about a week later on the coast. A few western hummingbirds arrive for the winter just as the Ruby-throateds head south.
What kinds of hummingbirds live in Mississippi?
The Ruby-throated Hummingbird is the only species that nests in Mississippi. In winter, the Rufous Hummingbird is the most common visitor, and rarer western species like the Black-chinned, Buff-bellied and Calliope Hummingbirds show up some years, mostly near the coast.
Do hummingbirds stay in Mississippi in winter?
Ruby-throateds don't, but a few western hummingbirds do. Rufous Hummingbirds are the most likely, and they often stay from late fall into March or even April. Keep one feeder clean and filled all winter to give them a reason to stop.
What month should I take down my hummingbird feeder in Mississippi?
There's no fixed month. MSU Extension says coastal residents can leave feeders up into early winter, and everyone else should take them down only after hummingbird activity stops. Leaving one up all winter won't stop migration, and it might land you a Rufous.
When in Doubt, Plant Something Red
Get your plants in the ground before the March arrivals, hang the feeder by early March, and leave one up after everyone else has given up. Will started Sparkbird in 2018 because he wanted to log the birds at his own feeder, so if a Rufous turns up in January, share it with other Mississippi birders on the Sparkbird App. Nobody will believe you otherwise.
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