Hummingbird Nest
In general, the nest building and the raising of
the young is all done by the female Hummingbird.
She will generally raise one brood per season. In
the southern portions of the range she might raise two broods and in Florida,
three broods have been reported.
The hummingbird nest will usually be built on a tree branch.
On average a humming bird nest will only be 1 1/2
inches in diameter, about the size of a ping pong ball. They will be cup shaped
and made out of plant material that's held together with spider webs. Bits of
lichen can be found on the outside for camouflage and the inside will be lined
with plant down.
Below is a related DVD that might
be of interest:
You’ll be treated to the amazing sight of a
hummer building her nest, heartwarming scenes of a hatchling being fed, and the
humorous attempt of a chick trying to avoid fouling its nest.
Shot in southern California, southeastern Arizona, and Costa Rica,
Hooked On Hummingbirds also unveils the
secrets of hummingbird aerobatics—including upside down flight—as well as nectar
robbing, hawking, yawning, and other little-known, rarely seen facets of their
lives.
In addition to 20 hummingbird species, this entertaining and educational
documentary also shows the American kestrel, acorn woodpecker, red-naped
sapsucker, hooded oriole, rock wren, vermillion flycatcher, and others.
Hooked On Hummingbirds
DVD
Hummingbird Eggs
The female hummingbird will usually lay 2 eggs,
sometimes only one. The humming bird eggs will be white and less than half an inch long,
about the size of a jelly bean. She will incubate the eggs for two to three
weeks.
When hatched, the baby hummingbirds will be
completely naked and about an inch long. Baby Ruby-throated hummingbirds weigh
about .62 grams. For comparison, 3 newly hatched baby Ruby-throated hummingbirds
would weigh less than one American dime.
The female hummingbird will stay on the nest when
the baby hummingbirds are small, only leaving for a few minutes each hour to
look for food.
As the baby hummingbirds get feathers and start to
grow, she will spend more time away from the nest searching for food to feed the
babies.
The female will feed them with a mixture of nectar
and tiny insects and spiders, that she will collect in her crop and regurgitate
the mixture into the mouths of the young. The insects and spiders will provide
the protein that the baby hummingbirds need to grow.
The the baby hummingbirds will be ready to leave
the nest in about three weeks.
Hummingbird Nests and Baby Hummingbird Pictures
