Nests on ground on atolls or on coastal cliffs. It nests in the Hawaiian Islands, Marianas, Kiribati, Rose Atoll, Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Tuamotu Archipelago, Tubai Islands and Pitcairn. Breeds in Alaska and across the Praires and Great Plains in Canada and the United States. Now given protection it has increased once again. It often flies with wings held stiffly downcurved like a spotted Sandpiper, especially on its nesting grounds.
Flight is fast and consists of whirring wingbeats interrupted by brief glides.
Nests in sand or earth banks where it excavates a nest tunnel up to a meter long. Winters from Mexico to Panama. The only hummingbird breeding east of the Mississipi River. It lays two eggs the size of peas in a nest of plant down held together with spider silk. It is covered with lichen and placed in the fork of a tree, usually in a forest clearing.