Housing For Hummers

Hummingbirds do not use birdhouses or nesting boxes provided for them. Their thimble-sized, delicately made demitasse cup nests are composed of plant down held together with spider silk or strands from tent caterpillar nests and set securely on tree branches. So small that they can be covered by a bottle cap, they are often camouflaged with lichens.


Females lay two or three eggs that are incubated for 14 to 18 days and the young leave the nest in 18 to 21 days. Males do not help with child rearing and cannot be found when it comes to child support. Anna’s hummingbirds breed earlier than the others and may have two broods per year because they do not migrate.

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