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Hummingbird Babies
Seeing baby
hummingbirds can be a very exciting experience. Watching
them grow from eggs to babies, ready to leave the nest is a wonderful
sight. Learning what and why hummingbirds do the
things they do will help you understand this amazing little bird.
Babies came from hummingbird eggs that the mother hummingbird lays. When it is time for mother to lay her eggs. She will sit on the nest, quiver and wriggle her body every few seconds. The mother hummingbird will usually only lay two eggs. The eggs are white, small and about the size of a pea or a small jellybean. She may lay her eggs on two different days. The eggs will hatch out at the same time, even though they were laid on two different days. The mother hummingbird does this by not starting the incubation period completely, until the second egg is laid. The mother hummingbird is the only one who cares for the eggs. The male hummingbird does not help with raising the babies. If a male comes around the nest, the female will think his brightly colored feathers are a threat, that may bring predators to the nest and she will chase him away. The eggs will stay in the nest for 16-18 days before they begin to hatch. When the weather is cooler, it may take a few more days for the eggs to hatch. While the eggs are in the nest, the mother hummingbird will sit on them to keep them at a temperature of 96 degrees. She does this so her embryos will not be destroyed. Hummingbird babies inside the eggs, have muscles in their necks that are very strong. They have a hook on their beaks in which they use to peck their way out of the egg. This hook will go away after they are born. The mother hummingbird will get rid of the egg shells after the babies hatch. Hummingbird babies are featherless and dark skinned when they hatch from the egg. They are born with their eyes closed. The babies can weigh about one-third of a dime depending on the species of hummingbird. Hummingbird babies are about one inch long. They have short beaks that are blunt and yellow in color. The mother hummingbird spends most of her time sitting on the nest to keep the babies warm. When the babies grow more feathers, the mother will leave them to hunt for insects, spiders and nectar to feed them. The female hummingbird will eat insects, spiders and nectar and regurgitate it to feed her babies. She feeds her babies about every twenty minutes. The baby hummingbirds cannot feed themselves, they need their mother to do this for them. Baby hummingbirds do not eat just nectar. There is not enough protein in nectar alone for the babies to survive. If mother did not bring insects for them to eat they would die. The baby hummingbirds know when mother is at the nest, they can feel the wind her wings make. They will stick up their heads, with their mouths wide open. The mother will push her beak deep down into the babies mouths and regurgitate the nectar and insects inside. The mother's throat will swell as she makes an up and down movement when she pushes the food out. Potty training for baby hummingbirds comes naturally. The babies will go to the bathroom over the side of the nest. This is a great help to the mother hummingbird. She does not have to spend a lot of time cleaning the nest of waste. She can spend more time hunting for insects and nectar to feed the babies. In a couple of days, the babies began to double their size . They start growing fuzzy pinfeathers and their beaks will start to get darker. In about a week, the babies are covered in fuzzy little feathers. Baby hummingbirds have enough feathers after nine days to keep them warm. The mother hummingbird will not need to sit on the nest as often. By now the babies have grow to big for her to fit in the nest anyway. The babies start flexing and spreading their wings, by holding on to the bottom of the nest with their feet. The babies hold on to the nest so they will not unexpectedly fly away to early or fall from the nest. The babies do not fly from the nest for about another twelve days. By week two, the babies have pin feathers that cover their bodies. At this time they start to grow real feathers for flying. They have grown longer beaks, which have turned much darker. When they turn three weeks old, they are looking more like real hummingbirds. The babies are testing out their wings more and more. Soon they will fly from the nest and never return. Mother hummingbirds still feeds her babies for two to three days after they have left the nest. She shows them the best places to catch insects and to get nectar. She soon chases them off to live on their own. To see a great video on hummingbirds from eggs to babies go to this web site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG59PaCiiDg. Copyright 2010 |