Comments on: Anna's hummingbird outflies falcons and fighter pilots

By: Lorinda

Lorinda — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 23:13:15 +0000

Very cool. I’ve seen this behavior, but I thought it was a territorial display. Now I know.

By: Owlmirror

Owlmirror — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:55:26 +0000

The entire paper is currently available through open access:
doi:10.1098/rspb.2007.1619 Proc. R. Soc. B 22 April 2008 vol. 275 no. 1637 955-962
It includes the videos and sound files of the feathers emitting the “chirp” when vibrating at the appropriate frequencies, when the air is moving past it at the right speed.

By: cyberthrush

cyberthrush — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:25:58 +0000

hmmmm… and the advantage of this death-defying performance over simply saying, “hey babe, ya visit this trumpet vine often” is what?

By: Arj

Arj — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 21:12:34 +0000

I’ve always sorta thought that if we just studied the physics of hummingbird flight carefully enough… we’d soon realize they can’t possibly exist!

By: DDeden

DDeden — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:42:39 +0000

Well that’s novel. I won’t ask about fiddler crabs then.

By: Ed Yong

Ed Yong — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:39:48 +0000

“cricket fiddlers.”
It is worth noting that here in Britain, this phrase would translate to “people who have sex with crickets”.

By: DDeden

DDeden — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:07:19 +0000

Yeah, little hummers are always buzzing the garden here in Eureka, Nor Cal; they must have astounding aerodynamics and their own version of a sonic boom. Great explanation, reminds me of cricket fiddlers.

By: Jing-reed

Jing-reed — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:38:49 +0000

Thanks for this Ed.
Your site is always one of my favorite places to visit. This posting reminded me of personal encounters with various different types of hummingbirds in my Northern California garden and their ariel acrobatics. At the time I wasn’t aware of the fact that it was sex related, but always enjoyed the show!

By: Tsu Dho Nimh

Tsu Dho Nimh — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:33:22 +0000

Thanks. I wondered whether the noise at the bottom of the dive was vocal or something else. Tail feathers make sense, because they can vibrate like reeds.
It can be unnerving to be walking in the garden and have one of these displays next to you. You don’t see the bird until you hear it.

By: Anon

Anon — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:04:30 +0000

Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading this. It was (as always) a nice way of taking a break from working on some papers. Thanks!