Editing Hummingbird (section)

=== Lifespan ===

Hummingbirds have unusually long lifespans for organisms with such rapid metabolisms. Though many die during their first year of life, especially in the vulnerable period between hatching and [[fledging]], those that survive may occasionally live a decade or more.<ref name="rpbo">{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=The hummingbird project of British Columbia |url=http://rpbo.org/hummingbirds.php |access-date=25 June 2016 |publisher=Rocky Point Bird Observatory, Vancouver Island, British Columbia |archive-date=2 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202002338/http://rpbo.org/hummingbirds.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> Among the better-known North American species, the typical lifespan is probably 3 to 5 years.<ref name="rpbo"/> For comparison, the smaller [[shrew]]s, among the smallest of all mammals, seldom live longer than 2 years.<ref name="Churchfield">{{Cite book |last=Churchfield |first=Sara |title=The natural history of shrews |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-8014-2595-0 |pages=35–37}}</ref> The longest recorded lifespan in the wild relates to a female broad-tailed hummingbird that was banded as an adult at least one year old, then recaptured 11 years later, making her at least 12 years old.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Longevity Records Of North American Birds |url=https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/longevity/Longevity_main.cfm |access-date=26 January 2021 |publisher=United States Geological Survey}}</ref> Other longevity records for banded hummingbirds include an estimated minimum age of 10 years 1 month for a female black-chinned hummingbird similar in size to the broad-tailed hummingbird, and at least 11 years 2 months for a much larger [[buff-bellied hummingbird]].<ref name="BBL">{{cite web |url=http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBL/homepage/long3930.cfm |title=Longevity Records AOU Numbers 3930–4920 |publisher=Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Bird Banding Laboratory |date=2009-08-31 |accessdate=2009-09-27}}</ref>