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Life cycle

Hummingbirds begin mating when they are a year old. Sex occurs over 3–5 seconds when the male joins its cloaca with the female's, passing sperm to fertilize the female's eggs.

Hummingbird females build a nest resembling a small cup about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) in diameter, commonly attached to a tree branch using spider webs, lichens, moss, and loose strings of plant fibers (image). Typically, two pea -shaped white eggs (image) – the smallest of any bird – are incubated over 2–3 weeks in breeding season. Fed by regurgitation only from the mother, the chicks fledge about 3 weeks after hatching.

The average lifespan of a ruby-throated hummingbird is estimated to be 3–5 years, with most deaths occurring in yearlings, although one banded ruby-throated hummingbird lived for 9 years and 2 months. Bee hummingbirds live 7–10 years.