Baby Hummingbirds: (Egg to Fledgling)
Observing a baby hummingbird grow from a tiny little egg to an inexperienced adult is an extraordinary occurrence to witness.
Understanding the remarkable stages of a new generation of baby hummingbirds will captivate and spark an appreciation for their struggles and successes to integrate successfully into their modern society.
In this article, I will address all the curious questions surrounding a baby hummingbird egg to life after fledging the nest.
When is the nesting season for hummingbirds?
Hummingbirds’ nesting season coincides with spring and early summer months when flowers are abundant, providing nectar and insects for food.
Some nesting begin as early as February to as late as November in their wintering location.
Eggs are laid 5 days after arrival, with multiple broods yearly but not during migration.
The nesting season for hummingbirds varies depending on their species and geographic location.
For migratory hummingbirds in North America, the nesting season is during the spring and early summer months.
Some of these north breeding migratory hummingbirds include:
- Ruby-throated (Eastern North America) – Nesting begins in April through July, depending on the latitude. They migrate north from their wintering home in Mexico in early spring and begin nesting soon after arrival.
- Rufous (Western North America) – Nesting occurs from May to July after migrating to their breeding grounds in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
- Black-chinned (Southwestern U.S.) – Nesting season runs from April through August.
Non-migrating or year-round residents such as the Anna’s hummingbird (Western North America) have more flexibility as to when to lay her eggs.
They nest as early as December and continue through June, particularly in warmer climates like California.
Mother nature or their own internal biological clock will tell the female when the conditions are right to lay her eggs.
Most hummingbirds lay 2 eggs per brood with 2 broods per year, but depending on migration time and day length in their nesting destinations, some hummingbirds can have more than 2 broods or limit them to one brood per year.
Mother hummingbirds are the sole care and provider for her young.
After mating, females build nests while carrying eggs growing inside of her. She frantically gathers materials to ensure a safe environment for her babies.
What are hummingbird nests made out of?
Hummingbird nests are constructed of common plant fibers, spider silk, lichen and moss, soft plant down, and other natural materials.
They provide strength, flexibility, and camouflage to predators.
The materials are often tailored to the local environment, ensuring the nest blends in with its surroundings.
Common materials in hummingbird nests include:
Plant Fibers: Soft fibers from leaves, stems, or bark, such as those from dandelions, thistle, or cattails, form the nest’s foundation.These provide a lightweight and cushioned base for the nest.
Spider Silk: Spider webs act as a glue and are a binding agent that holds the nest together. This flexibility is crucial for accommodating the expanding size of nestlings allowing them to stretch and grow.
Lichen and Moss: Lichen and moss are often attached to the exterior of the nest for camouflage, helping the nest blend into tree branches or leaves escaping the eyes of predators.
Downy Plant Materials: Fluffy substances such as cottonwood seeds or down from milkweed add insulation to keep eggs and chicks warm.
Other Natural Debris: Tiny bits of bark, leaves, or even animal fur can be incorporated, depending on local availability.
Hummingbird nests are the size of a walnut or ping-pong ball and located on slender branches, forks of trees, or in sheltered spots.
A hummingbird’s nest placement, design and construction are marvels of natural engineering.

Photo by: Aaron Gomperts
What is the size of a hummingbird egg?
Hummingbird eggs are roughly the size of a coffee bean and weigh between 0.4 grams to 1.4 grams.
A hummingbird egg weighs a little more than an average small metal paperclip, which weighs roughly 1 gram.
These white eggs are less than ½ inch long in length.
A female hummingbird will lay two perfectly sized oval eggs nestled together in a newly constructed and comfortable nest. They constantly need to be kept warm by their mother but not overheat to survive the incubation process successfully.
Their small size aligns with the diminutive nature of hummingbirds, making them one of the tiniest eggs in the bird world.

How long does it take for a hummingbird egg to hatch?
Incubation starts after the second egg is laid and lasts 14 to 18 days, sometimes as long as 21 days in colder weather.
A female hummingbird can raise one or more broods in a nesting season.
Hummingbirds usually lay 2 eggs per brood, one each on consecutive days.
The female lays an egg on the first day, rests a day, then lays another for a total of 2 eggs. She begins incubating the eggs immediately after laying the second egg.
Hummingbird eggs have a better chance of survival when 2 eggs are laid. They rely on each other’s heat to stay warm during the delicate stages of being an egg to when they hatch.
On occasion, you may find a nest with only one egg. Born naked, not having any feathers to keep warm, and lacking body heat from a potential sibling decreases their chances of survival.
A mother hummingbird will incubate her eggs and keep them heated at a consistent and proper temperature between 96 and 98.6*F (35–37°C).
It is very important to distribute the heat evenly around the eggs so as not to “overcook” them, ensuring success in proper development.
A few degrees of fluctuation in temperature can spell disaster for the baby chicks and can mean the difference between life and death within 15 to 30 minutes.
Throughout the incubation process, the mother hummingbird will use her beak and feet to turn the eggs over several times a day to prevent the eggs from overheating.
This process can sometimes take longer by a few days in colder weather and can create a less stable environment for the chicks and make them weak.
The physical act of sitting on the eggs to incubate and transfer heat from her underbelly region to her eggs is called “brooding”. The term brooding is a behavior where birds sit on their eggs to incubate them and is different from using the word brood as a noun, referring to a family of offspring.
During brooding, the mother hummingbird sits quietly on her nest while exhibiting characteristics of daydreaming or being in a deep trance.
Out of every hour, the mother will spend 50 to 55 minutes sitting on her eggs, which means she only has 5-10 minutes during that time to stretch and acquire some nutrition.

Once the internal core temperature consistently reaches and maintains 100 degrees Fahrenheit this signals the appropriate time for the eggs to hatch.
Baby hummingbirds are born with strong neck muscles.
They also have a sharp curved hook at the end of their beak to help them break through the egg shell.
After the baby hummingbirds hatch, the mother will dispose of the broken shells over the side of the nest and if you are lucky you will be able to spot a tiny thin shell on the ground to save as a souvenir.

Once hatched, the nestlings are blind, featherless, and entirely dependent on their mother for warmth and food. The mother feeds them a mix of regurgitated nectar and insects to ensure rapid growth.
What is the size of a baby hummingbird?
A newly hatched baby hummingbird will weigh roughly 0.62 grams, which is weighing less than a stick of gum.
Their size is 2 cm long or less than 1 inch in length, roughly the size of a jellybean or a raisin.
The bare-naked chick has no feathers yet and heavily relies on the mother or its siblings for extra body heat.
Newborn hummingbirds are incredibly tiny and fragile, weighing less than a penny.
They are born blind, featherless, and with dark skin.
Their small size and underdeveloped state require constant care from the mother for warmth and food.
Two warm bodies heating the nest are always better than one in order to properly survive. As the babies begin to develop and double in size they will begin to gain pin feathers within the first week.

The babies continue to grow and completely fill the nest. By this time they produce more pin feathers, aiding in regulating their own body temperature and allowing the mother to spend less time on the nest and more time searching for food.
In 14 days, the baby hummingbirds are completely covered in pin feathers and their eyes begin to open.
By day 18, we see feathers growing out of their pin feathers and their eyes are fully open.

Photo by: IntheWildwithRick
Twenty four days after birth the hummingbird babies are very large and are popping out of the nest. By this time the baby hummingbirds are more alert and their eyes are wide open.

Photo by: IntheWildwithRick
As the hummingbird babies grow they produce a lot of waste material.
The babies do not like to sleep in their excrement.
Nobody likes to sleep in a dirty bed!
They prefer a clean environment and dispose of their waste by putting their butts in the air and squirting or shooting out dark poop material that is visibly seen near or around the nest.
What do baby hummingbirds eat?
Baby hummingbirds eat an easily digestible formula of regurgitated bugs and nectar from their mother’s crop. They are fed a diet of high-protein and high-energy substances to support their rapid growth and meet their high metabolic demands.
Protein from bugs makes up the bulk of the diet.
Hummingbird babies have a hefty appetite. They require a higher protein and fat diet that is rich in nutrients encouraging the nourishment and growth of these maturing babies.
An all nectar diet does not have enough nutrients to sustain the development and growth of baby hummingbirds.
The mother delivers a mixture of nectar and partially digested insects to the babies, ensuring they get a balanced meal. The protein of small insects include: tiny caterpillars, gnats, aphids, and small spiders.
These special ingredients are tailored towards a baby hummingbird’s diet resembling a mushy consistency and texture that is consumed regularly, every 20-30 minutes by their offspring.

Photo by: hummingbirdsbysuprise
How does a mother hummingbird feed her babies?
A mother hummingbird feeds her babies by expelling a regurgitated bolus of bugs and nectar from her crop into the mouths of the baby hummingbirds.
The stored uneaten food in the mother’s crop sits and waits patiently until she returns home to transfer her food to her young.
The mother hummingbird uses her crop which is part of the esophagus, not the stomach, to deposit the pulposus texture of nutrients to her young every 15 to 20 minutes.
The crop is an enlarged esophagus (a part of the bird’s digestive tract) that stores food for a limited period of time.
This part of the bird’s anatomy is a muscular pouch that expands near the throat.
This biological trait is useful for a mother hummingbird to gather and store a large amount of food in her crop in a short amount of time when food is available.
At a later and more convenient date, she will attend to her stored food when she is safe or ready to feed her offspring.
Initially, when their eyes are still closed, baby hummingbirds rely heavily on their sense of hearing and their sense of touch.
In an effort to gauge when the mother hummingbird is arriving at the nest with food the babies wait in anticipation listening for familiar chirps and feeling the vibrations of air produced by her wings.
When the mother hummingbird has made contact with her babies they quickly lift their heads from resting (with their eyes closed), opening their mouths to prepare themselves for receiving food.
The mother hummingbird will grip the side of the nest with her claws while she thrusts her beak down her babies throats and regurgitates her food and transfers the undigested matter into the hungry mouths of her young.
If you have never witnessed this in action, it can be a scary sight!
At first glance, it looks like the mother is violently choking her babies or even potentially hurting them. But rest assured she is not harming them. She is only doing her job and filling the bellies of her babies.
Here is a video clip of a mother hummingbird feeding her babies. In this video the babies are older and their eyes are open.
This nutrient-rich diet allows baby hummingbirds to grow rapidly, developing feathers and preparing for their first flights in just a few weeks.
When the baby hummingbirds become adolescents, they will continue to rely on their mother for food and will continue to feed on the regurgitated mixture from mom for the next 3 weeks while also learning how to locate their own food.
How long does it take for a baby hummingbird to fly?
From hatching to fledging it takes approximately 3-4 weeks for a baby hummingbird to perfect the art of flying. During this time the babies practice cleaning their feathers while stretching and strengthening their muscles and continue to test their wings in preparation for flight.
A little after 3 weeks baby hummingbirds are ready to practice the motion of flying. They have tripled in size and are competing for space in the nest.
Before leaving the nest, they practice flapping their wings to build strength.
While perfecting their craft of flying, baby hummingbirds tend to hit their siblings in the face with their wings. This rewarding and invigorating challenge makes them extremely excited to show off their new profound skill set.
They proudly flap their wings pretending to feel like an adult even though they are still gripping the side of the nest for stability.
Two more weeks of training are mandated after fledging.
Sometimes during the preparation of flight a baby hummingbird can knock their sibling out of the nest. If you can safely locate the nest (often found in trees, shrubs, or other sheltered areas), try to gently place the baby chick back.
Mother hummingbirds will not abandon their young if they have been handled by humans. This is a common myth.
Read my article:
Is it Safe for a Human to Touch a Hummingbird?
When do hummingbird babies leave the nest?
From 18-22 days (about 3 weeks) after hatching, baby hummingbirds will fledge the nest. These tiny babies have turned into juvenile hummingbirds.
The total cycle from an egg being laid to babies leaving the nest is 5-6 weeks or (35-42 days) total.
After the third week, the baby hummingbirds are ready to fully test their wings for flight. One hummingbird baby will stay in the nest, while the other one exits from a cramped nest to perfect their newly accomplished flying capabilities on a nearby branch.
Sometimes one sibling will have more courage than the other and will fly out of the nest first.
Their first flight may be brief and awkward, but they quickly refine their flying skills as they explore and practice.
Occasionally the second baby who is left behind will need a few more days to gather up their courage to follow in their sibling’s footsteps.
Once both hummingbird babies have left, they will never return to their nest.
They are now at a stage to locate their mother in the wide open world by verbally communicating through tiny chirping sounds stating their location and when they want to be fed.
After fledging, the mother continues to feed and care for the fledglings for 1-2 weeks until they become completely independent.

Anna’s Hummingbird
Photo by: Mehta.vishal.360
This period allows the young birds to practice flying and learn how to locate food and insects on their own.
Leaving their old world behind, these adolescent hummingbirds embark on their new travels and unexplored adventures!
Final Thoughts:
A hummingbird’s journey from egg to fledgling begins in early spring when the female lays 1–2 coffee bean-sized eggs. After the second egg, a 14–18 day incubation follows.
Babies eat regurgitated nectar and insects every 20 minutes, even before their eyes open, sensing their mother’s arrival. Four weeks after hatching, they fledge the nest.
For 1–2 weeks, the mother teaches them to find food until they are independent, ready to continue the cycle of life.
Happy Hummingbird Watching!
Check out my other posts on Hummingbird Questions
23 Comments
Comments are closed.