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A very odd record is that of an adult male at a feeder near Hillsborough ( Orange) from 6- slightly less shocking were an adult male at a feeder near Lenoir ( Caldwell) on, and an adult male at Chapel Hill from 7. Records span all 12 months, but mainly from mid-Aug to late Mar. Very rare to rare (essentially only at feeders) across the province, with a preponderance of records in the Triangle area. Peak counts: 2, New Bern, winter 1986-87. Records from early Aug - mid-Apr, with most from mid-Nov - late Mar.
![rufous hummingbird rufous hummingbird](https://feederwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/OW8A9013-20copy-1024x683.jpg)
Very rare along the coast and in the Tidewater zone, mainly at feeders accidental/casual (surprisingly scarce) farther inland, with just two reports (from Moore) - Whispering Pines of a Selasphorus sp. Thus, though one can probably assume a hummingbird with buffy or rusty flanks and tail feathers is a Rufous, it is best to be cautious and report such birds as Selasphorus sp. Though Rufous Hummingbirds should be easily separated from Ruby-throated (or Black-chinned), there are other very similar species, especially the Allen's, as well as females of Broad-tailed and Calliope. In fact, though quite a few hummingbirds winter now along the coast, the great majority of these are Ruby-throateds, whereas a winter hummingbird in the Piedmont or mountains is more likely to be a Rufous, or perhaps even a Black-chinned, than a Ruby-throated. There is an odd hiatus in records, with essentially none from the inner portions of the Coastal Plain, probably a result of fewer feeders left up in winter in this region than elsewhere in the state. Even so, more records of it occur well inland in the state than near the coast.
![rufous hummingbird rufous hummingbird](https://live.staticflickr.com/6036/6345475176_9483e26006_b.jpg)
![rufous hummingbird rufous hummingbird](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d6/d1/f4/d6d1f463b20bf112c5202def9c9d4b67--cloud-hummingbirds.jpg)
The Rufous Hummingbird is the state's second-most numerous hummingbird, and though it breeds in the remote northwestern corner of the continent from Alaska south to Idaho, it has a well-known southeastward fall migration that routinely takes some individuals to the Atlantic coast.
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