Hummingbirds For Mom

Some people mistakenly believe that male and female hummingbirds form a pair bond and are therefore mated for life. This not true! In fact, male and female hummingbirds do not form a pair bond, and the birds only remain together for courtship and mating. The female hummingbird bares the sole responsibility for building the nests and caring for the young birds once they are born. After mating, the male has no further responsibilities toward reproduction. In a sense, it could be said that the male hummingbird is an example of nature’s the equivalent of a deadbeat father! Oh well, without this behavior it is likely that there would be far less hummingbirds born and the population would therefore be far less.