How do parent hummingbirds feed their chicks?

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Illustration of a chestnut-collared swift (Cypseloides rutilus) in flight, showing its dark brown body and wings with a distinctive reddish-brown collar around its neck. — Apodiform Chestnut-collared swift (*Cypseloides rutilus*)

Parent hummingbirds feed their chicks by regurgitation. After the young hatch blind and virtually naked, the parent provides food in this manner until the chicks are ready to fledge, which typically occurs in about three weeks. The duration of this period from hatching to fledging is generally correlated with the available food supply.1