When Do Hummingbirds Lay Eggs? You May Not Be Aware Of This!

Hummingbirds are birds that are native to the Americas. Americas consist of the land of both North America and South America. Twenty-eight species out of the Three hundred and thirty-six species of hummingbirds are endangered or critically endangered.

Hummingbirds are famously known for their rapid and maneuverable flight, their metabolic capacity, adaptation to higher altitudes, long-distance migration, and great sense of vision and communication. 

Hummingbirds are also famous for their beauty. Out of all the birds, male hummingbirds have the widest variety of plumage colors in them. The colors include blues, greens, and purples.

Hummingbirds are also well-known for being the smallest mature birds. They measure around 7.5cm to 13cm in length. The smallest species of hummingbird is the bee hummingbird which is the smallest bird known to humans to this day. A bee hummingbird measures to the length of 6 cm and weighs around 2 grams.

What Do The Eggs Of Hummingbirds Look Like?

The hummingbird’s eggs are so weightless which is not surprising considering the size of a mature hummingbird is at most 13cm. It is said that hummingbirds’ eggs are the size of jelly beans. The hummingbird’s eggs are dull white in color.

The hummingbirds’ eggs weigh around half a gram. However considering the number of species of hummingbirds, the size of the eggs can vary vastly throughout.

Even though when comparing the hummingbird’s egg to other birds’ eggs it seems to be small when comparing a hummingbird’s egg to an adult hummingbird, there are species of hummingbirds that lays an egg that contains 3.6% of their adult body weight while some other species lay eggs that weight 17% the weight of their adult form.

The bee hummingbird which is the smallest hummingbird is said to lay eggs that are the size of coffee beans. A giant hummingbird lays eggs the length of a penny

The number of eggs laid by hummingbirds ranges from one egg to three eggs. Most of the species also lay eggs around three times every year. The breedings of hummingbirds vary according to their species.

The breeding also depends on migration since there are hummingbirds which are migratory birds. Migration hummingbirds typically have only one brood. But there are also other migratory birds that breed several times a year.

Non-migratory hummingbirds that live in the tropics breed usually around two or three times a year. The destruction that may happen to their nests does not affect their breeding. The hummingbirds build another nest to lay more eggs.

Even the migratory hummingbirds lay eggs around one to three times annually. They often return to a nesting ground that they favor. And the nests are built in the surrounding areas even though not in the exact same spot.  

The exact time when hummingbirds lay eggs depends on various factors. And different species of hummingbirds lay eggs at different times. So, the time frame of when the hummingbirds lay eggs cannot be provided with a general period of time. Some migratory hummingbirds lay eggs at an interval that is between March and May. Non-migratory hummingbirds lay eggs later in the year which is between April and July. 

Like many birds, hummingbirds lay eggs in the nest that is made by the female hummingbirds. These nests measure only a few inches in diameter. Hummingbirds have the smallest bird nests in the world. Hummingbird eggs are incubated for two to three weeks. Male hummingbirds are usually absent through this process.

Hummingbird nests are usually built for temporary nesting and laying of eggs. So, the female hummingbirds usually build a nest at a place different than where the previous nest was. But those nests are usually within the same vicinity.

When the eggs hatch, the hatchlings that emerge from the eggs are usually without any feathers and their eyes shut closed. This makes the hatchlings completely depend on their primary caretaker which is usually the female hummingbird for all the comfort and needs. Since the hatchlings are completely devoid of any feathers, they might not even have the ability to stand up.

The female hummingbirds provide them with the warmth and nutrients they need by gathering food for them and distributing it. The hatchlings are usually nursed for every need until they open their eyes and grow feathers. Then the female hummingbirds detach from their hatchlings.

Some of the main reasons why hummingbirds are endangered are collisions with windows as birds cannot see glass, attacks from outdoor animals which are not trained, exposure to toxic pesticides, destruction of their habitat, etc. Also, the curiousness of human beings regarding hummingbirds and their instinct on being too close to them affects them.

If you want to observe their nests, it is better to do it from a distance with binoculars. Hummingbirds also have a lifespan of 5 years which does not give them enough time to reproduce enough to keep up the population.