Mighty Feathers: Hummingbird Mating Dive

HUMMINGBIRD SOUNDS: The male Anna’s hummingbird flies straight up 100 feet and then power dives down. As he does, he accelerates faster than any other animal hitting g forces over 10g’s which can cause a person to pass out.

HUMMINGBIRD SOUNDS: The little hummer swings upward and makes a loud chirp. The problem the scientists were having with this is that his larynx– his voice “box”– is too small to make a sound that loud.

HUMMINGBIRD SOUNDS: It was discovered that the hummer fans its tail feathers out in 6 seconds on the bottom at the upswing of the dive.

HUMMINGBIRD SOUNDS: The speedy hummingbird’s feathers flutter up and down in a wave. The 4000 beat per second sound (4kHz) is only produced if a wave moves the entire length of the feather.

HUMMINGBIRD SOUNDS: Scientists separated some of the barbs and stopped them from hooking to each other. This stopped the feathers’ ability to make the sound. The feather sound, however, could be restored simply by reconnecting the barbs of the feathers so they could vibrate like a wave.