Audubon Magazine Bird Feeding and Care

Are Hummingbirds Really Attracted to the Color Red?

They are indeed, but that's sill no reason to dye your sugar water and cause possible harm.
A male Costa's Hummingbird with a bright purple gorget perches on a red hummingbird feeder.
Costa's Hummingbird. Photo: Mick Thompson
By Andrew Del-Colle
Digital Editorial Director, Audubon magazine
Published March 12, 2026
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Hummingbird feeders come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and styles, but virtually every design has one detail in common: the color red. There's good reason for this. Popular belief has long held that hummers are naturally attracted to the color red—but is it true? 

Yes, hummingbirds are drawn to the color red, and the attraction is hard-wired.

In nature, red flowers typically serve as a reliable source of nectar, so over millennia the high-speed hoverers have evolved to associate the color with food and much-needed energy. So much so, in fact, that their eyes are specially equipped to filter for warm reds and yellows while dulling cool colors like blue. 

But color only goes so far. According to one landmark study, the sugar content of the nectar matters most. By changing the sugar-density of the nectar in various flowers, researchers were able to easily toggle the attention of their test subjects to blue flowers from red. 
 


Don't Color Your Sugar Water Red 

As for whether you should color sugar water red, the answer is a clear and resounding no. Though no scientific studies have been done on artificial dyes and hummingbirds, food coloring has been found to harm other animals and could pose a risk to hummers. And most importantly, It's also just completely unnecessary—nectar in nature is clear. 

Food coloring and dyes can harm the birds.

If you're worried about the birds finding your feeder, red and yellow flourishes on the actual feeder are all you need to grab their attention. And even those touches aren't even necessary. To borrow a line from one of the best movies ever: If you put it out, they will come. Eventually. 

Keep your sugar water simple with the recipe below, and remember to regularly clean your feeder to avoid pests. Just be warned: These territorial birds can get quite feisty around feeders, and they also pee a lot. 
 


How to Make Hummingbird Nectar

Materials:
• 1/4 cup refined white sugar
• 1 cup boiling water
• Bowl
• Spoon

Note: Do substitute honey, which can promote dangerous fungal growth, or use red food coloring, which can prove harmful to birds. 

Steps:
1. Mix sugar and boiling water until sugar is dissolved. 
2. Cool and fill feeder.
3. Hang up your feeder outside and wait for the hummingbirds to come.