Hummingbirds sing with their tail feathers

Many species of hummingbird produce distinctive sounds with their tail-feathers, which flutter in airflow. Here, I show some of their displays along with the sounds they make. I tested hummingbird tail-feathers in a wind tunnel to determine how the sounds are made. This video shows the results of the study, and includes animations and high-speed videos of feathers in a wind tunnel. Photos courtesy Anand Varma, www.varmaphoto.com

• Category

  Science & Technology

[azNephi]

Wait a second where did he get all these feathers from?

[Chris Clark]

over the past several years I have personally worked with all of these species in the field. So, the feathers are from my field work. Hummingbirds are protected by law; in order to do my research, I apply for research permits from government agencies, such as the US Fish & Wildlife Service (for species in the US)

[Debbie Sheegog]

!oved this, thank you, didn't know how they did this but have heard it on my favorite bird livecam! <3

[1BlueStarRising]

Very Lovely Video ! Awesome Information about These birds :-) Awesome Filming !

Thank you for sharing Chris. Many Blessing's, Michael

[santos romero]

WOW good job on ur research

[rebeccal22]

amazing!

[compassvanlines]

I really like this video. Few very good information on Hummingbirds.

[rriverstone1]

did you hurt those birds??? Also: I hear hummers vocalizing while sitting on branches; that must be voice

[Michael Neal]

Thank you very much for this presentation! I've been observing hummers for years and years, and always recognized the sounds that were coming from feather vibration during the mating displays- and thanks to you, all my questions are answered! Really- brilliant research, and presentation... Thanks again!!

[Irad Peleg]

thank you chris for the unnecessary but yet very interesting information