Travel - Captive in Aviaries

Where the hummers come to you

North America ]  [ Central America ]  [ South America ]  [ Captivity ]

Many hummingbird destinations are privately owned and operated to attract both hummers and human visitors. Many have expended great effort to enhance your hummingbird viewing experience and offer fabulous diversity.

We do not endorse nor have a relationship with any of the facilities. We simply list them here as we believe they are some of the best we have visited. If you know of others please let us know.

If you are an avid traveling birder and seeking specific species I suggest you read some of the trip reports on CloudBirders. They offer coordinates, images, maps and species. Especially the trip reports by Ross Gallardy


IMPORTANT NOTE: All hummingbirds are on Appendix II of CITES and thus are covered under the Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA). An import permit from USFWS and an export permit from the country of origin must be obtained prior to the importation. Permits have been granted in the past, but currently it is difficult to find a country willing to export hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are more commonly kept in European collections, particularly private collections, and could be a source for future imports.

There are very severe laws in the United States
about keeping a hummingbird in captivity.

We prefer hummers in the wild


Hummingbirds do not generally thrive in captivity and their tiny size makes them difficult to care for in captive environments. Nevertheless, there are zoos and aviaries throughout the world that have been mildly successful at providing for hummingbirds. This does, indeed, allow more birders the opportunity to see hummingbirds. Captive birds can offer fabulous viewing, study and photography opportunities and these zoos and similar facilities are well worth visiting: