Editing Hummingbird (section)

== Reproduction ==
[[File:Trochilidae - Hummingbird.webm|thumb|Video of a hummingbird building a nest]]

Male hummingbirds do not take part in nesting.<ref name="oniki">{{Cite journal |last1=Oniki |first1=Y |last2=Willis |first2=E.O. |year=2000 |title=Nesting behavior of the swallow-tailed hummingbird, ''Eupetomena macroura'' (Trochilidae, Aves) |journal=Brazilian Journal of Biology |volume=60 |issue=4 |pages=655–662 |doi=10.1590/s0034-71082000000400016 |pmid=11241965 |doi-access=free|hdl=11449/28969 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Most species build a cup-shaped nest on the branch of a tree or shrub.<ref name="pbs">{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=Hummingbird nesting |url=http://www.learner.org/jnorth/humm/spring2016/c051316_nest.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202001143/http://www.learner.org/jnorth/humm/spring2016/c051316_nest.html |archive-date=2 February 2017 |access-date=12 May 2016 |publisher=Public Broadcasting System – Nature; from Learner.org, Journey North |format=video}}</ref> The nest varies in size relative to the particular species&nbsp;– from smaller than half a [[walnut]] shell to several centimeters in diameter.<ref name="oniki"/>

Many hummingbird species use [[spider silk]] and lichen to bind the nest material together and secure the structure.<ref name="pbs"/><ref name="rubyproj">{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=Hummingbird Q&A: Nest and eggs |url=http://www.rubythroat.org/questionsnesteggs01.html |access-date=21 June 2014 |publisher=Operation Rubythroat: The Hummingbird Project, Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History}}</ref> The unique properties of the silk allow the nest to expand as the young hummingbirds grow. Two white eggs are laid,<ref name=ruby/><ref name="pbs"/> which despite being the smallest of all bird eggs, are large relative to the adult hummingbird's size.<ref name="pbs"/> [[Egg incubation|Incubation]] lasts 14 to 23 days, depending on the species, ambient temperature, and female attentiveness to the nest.<ref name=ruby/><ref name="oniki"/> The mother feeds her nestlings on small [[arthropod]]s and nectar by inserting her bill into the open mouth of a [[Nestling#Parental care and fledging|nestling]], and then regurgitating the food into its [[Crop (anatomy)|crop]].<ref name="oniki"/> Hummingbirds stay in the nest for 18–22 days, after which they leave the nest to forage on their own, although the mother bird may continue feeding them for another 25 days.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mohrman |first=Eric |date=22 November 2019 |title=How do hummingbirds mate? |url=https://sciencing.com/hummingbirds-mate-4566850.html |access-date=8 February 2020 |publisher=Sciencing, Leaf Group Media}}</ref>