Ever looked out your window and seen a flash of iridescent green zip past your face? You probably thought, "Hey, there's a hummingbird." But if you’re lucky enough to see a dozen of them swarming a feeder during migration, you might wonder what do you call a group of hummingbirds besides just "a lot of birds."
Actually, the answer is way more poetic than you’d expect.
People usually call them a charm. It’s a perfect fit, right? They’re charming. They’re tiny. They feel like something out of a fairy tale. But depending on who you talk to—or how many old-school poetry books you have lying around—they might also be called a shimmer, a glittering, a hover, or even a bouquet.
Language is weird like that. We love giving animals specialized names that sound like they belong in a Victorian novel. But here’s the kicker: hummingbirds aren't actually social. In the wild, seeing a group of them is actually kind of a red flag for bird drama.
The Most Common Collective Nouns for Hummingbirds
If you’re taking a quiz or writing a nature blog, charm is the gold standard. It’s the term that has stuck the most in modern English. It likely stems from the old Middle English word "cherme," which referred to the noise of birds singing or twittering.
But if you want to get fancy, a shimmer of hummingbirds is arguably the most accurate. When light hits those structural feathers—which aren't actually pigmented but use microscopic platelets to refract light like a prism—the whole group looks like a vibrating rainbow.
Then there’s the glittering. This one is often used specifically for certain species, like the Glittering-bellied Emerald. If you’ve ever seen a group of these guys in Brazil or Argentina, you know the name isn't an exaggeration. They look like living jewelry.
Sometimes you’ll hear the term bouquet. This usually describes a group of hummingbirds feeding at the same flower or cluster of plants. It’s a bit more "Pinterest-aesthetic" than the others, but it’s widely recognized by birders.
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Why You Rarely See a Group (and What It Means When You Do)
Here is the thing about hummingbirds: they are tiny, feathered balls of pure, unadulterated rage.
Seriously.
They are incredibly solitary. They don't migrate in flocks like geese or starlings. They don't nest together. They don't even really like each other. Most of the time, if you see two hummingbirds in the same square yard, they are trying to figure out how to drive the other one into the next county.
So, when you actually do see what you’d call a group of hummingbirds, it’s usually for one of three reasons:
- The Feeder Effect: This is the most common way humans see a "charm." We put out a high-energy food source, and the local birds have no choice but to congregate. It’s a tense truce. They’re hovering, diving, and making that "chip-chip-chip" warning sound.
- Migration Pit Stops: During the spring and fall, especially along the Gulf Coast or through the "hummingbird highway" in the Rockies, birds might bunch up because they are exhausted and need to refuel.
- Lekking: This is the weird one. In some tropical species, like the Long-tailed Hermit, males gather in a specific area to sing and show off for females. This is called a "lek." It’s one of the few times these birds are intentionally social.
The Science of the "Hum"
While we’re talking about groups, let’s talk about why they hum in the first place. It isn't their voices. Their vocal cords are tiny and mostly used for high-pitched squeaks. The "hum" comes from their wings beating at anywhere from 50 to 200 times per second.
When a group of hummingbirds gathers, that sound is amplified. It’s a low-frequency vibration that you can actually feel in your chest if you’re close enough. This is why some people historically called them a hover. The sound is synonymous with the action.
Historical Roots: Where Did These Names Come From?
We can blame (or thank) the 15th-century obsession with "terms of venery." Back then, if you were a gentleman, you had to know the specific name for groups of animals to show you were educated. This is where we got a "murder of crows" or an "exaltation of larks."
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While the hummingbird is a New World bird—meaning Europeans didn't even know they existed until they hit the Americas—the naming conventions followed suit. Explorers were so baffled by these "fly-birds" that they used the most shimmering, magical language they could find.
Christopher Columbus was among the first Europeans to see them. He described them as "little birds that look like bumblebees." It took a few hundred years for the terminology to settle into the "charms" and "shimmers" we use today.
What to Do If You Have a "Charm" in Your Backyard
If you have managed to attract a group, you've probably noticed it’s a bit of a war zone. One bird usually tries to be the "King of the Hill," sitting on top of the feeder and diving at anyone who dares to take a sip.
To turn your chaotic group into a peaceful one, you need to break the line of sight.
Instead of putting one giant feeder out, put three small ones in different spots. Put one on the porch, one around the corner of the house, and one near a flower bed. If the "bully" bird can’t see all the feeders at once, he can’t defend them all. Suddenly, your backyard transforms from a battlefield into a legitimate shimmer of hummingbirds.
You should also look at your plant choices. Grouping nectar-rich flowers like Salvia, Bee Balm, and Trumpet Vine creates a natural "bouquet" effect. These plants provide more space for multiple birds to feed simultaneously without getting in each other’s way.
Common Misconceptions About Group Behavior
I've heard people say that hummingbirds travel on the backs of Canadian Geese to migrate.
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That is a total myth.
It’s a funny mental image, but hummingbirds are solo pilots. They fly across the Gulf of Mexico—a 500-mile non-stop journey—all by themselves. They don't need a group, and they certainly don't need a goose.
Another myth is that if you see a group of hummingbirds, they must be a family. Nope. Once the fledglings leave the nest, they are on their own. Mom doesn't stick around to show them the ropes, and Dad was never there to begin with. If you see a group, it’s a collection of strangers who happen to be hungry at the same time.
Creating a Bird-Friendly Habitat
If you want to see more than one of these gems at a time, you have to think about the environment. Hummingbirds need more than just sugar water. They need protein.
A healthy group of hummingbirds will spend a lot of time "hawking" for insects. They eat gnats, fruit flies, and small spiders. If you use heavy pesticides in your garden, you’re killing their primary food source.
- Avoid Red Dye: Never buy the red-dyed nectar at the store. It can be toxic. Just mix four parts water to one part white granulated sugar.
- Keep it Clean: In hot weather, sugar water ferments fast. A group of birds can get sick if the feeder isn't scrubbed every few days.
- Provide Perches: Hummingbirds have tiny feet, but they love to sit. Providing small, exposed twigs near your feeding area allows them to rest between "dogfights" with their neighbors.
Understanding what do you call a group of hummingbirds is really just the entry point into a much deeper world of birding. Whether you call them a charm or a shimmer, the real magic is in the physics of their flight and the sheer grit it takes for a three-gram bird to survive a thousand-mile flight.
The next time you see a frantic, shimmering crowd at your flowers, you'll know you aren't just looking at birds. You're looking at a high-stakes, high-energy event that most people just blink and miss.
Next Steps for Your Garden:
Check your nectar feeders today. If the water looks cloudy, it's already fermenting and needs a deep clean with hot water and vinegar. To attract a larger "charm," try adding a water mister to your yard; hummingbirds love flying through fine spray to bathe, and it’s one of the few activities they’ll actually do together without fighting.