The Buff-bellied hummingbird is a native of Eastern Mexico and the northern part of Belize . As described by Johnsgard (1983 , The Hummingbirds of North America, Smithsonian Institution Press) it is found in a variety of habitats from dense thickets, overrun with vines and tangles at lower elevations to deciduous forest at higher elevations. It is also found in moist riparian streamside areas (Johnsgard, personal communication) and in semi-arid scrub along the Gulf of Mexico. In the United States, it breeds in the lower Rio Grande Valley and often disperses northeastward, all along the Gulf Coast at least as far as the panhandle of Northwest Florida.