Birds have evolved some very strange features and behaviors in order to woo mates. Birds-of-paradise feathers are a natural vantablack. Bowerbirds build elaborate and colorful nests. And it seems that ...
Though famous for their mid-air hovering during hunting, tiny hummingbirds have another trait that is literally telltale: males of some hummingbird species generate loud sounds with their tail ...
You already know that hummingbirds are amazing animals — they can hover in place for minutes at a time, fly backwards at will, and flap their buzzing wings up to 70 times per second. But how much do ...
Bird enthusiasts already know that male hummingbirds do impressive dives to excite potential lady-friends during mating season. But scientists have found that these dives may be more about sound than ...
Nothing gets your attention as fast as a smoke alarm — especially when it wants its batteries changed. I’ve always hated that nagging beeping, but it has become less annoying now that I associate it ...
The chirps and beeps of hummingbirds at times come from their tails. Male Anna's hummingbirds — the West Coast's most common hummingbird — perform spectacular dive-bomber displays for females during ...
A Yale University zoologist has used a laser vibrometer and high speed videos from a wind tunnel to work out how the hummingbird makes its famous hum, and found that ...
This ScienceLives article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. The sexy zip of a male hummingbird as it dives is made not by its voice, but with its special ...
Many of the world's smallest hummingbirds, including the West Coast's Anna's and the East Coast's ruby-throated, execute display dives to seduce females and drive away intruders. A characteristic ...
A week ago I heard the familiar sound on hummingbird wings while filling bird feeders on our back porch. It happened so fast I had to quickly scan the area and found a female ruby-throated hummingbird ...