Hummingbirds make a variety of different sounds that all have distinct meanings. By understanding what each hummingbird sound means, bird watchers and hummingbird enthusiasts can gain insight into the behaviors and activities of these remarkable birds.
Squeaking and Ticking
One of the most common hummingbird sounds is a high-pitched squeaking or ticking noise. This sound is made both by male and female hummingbirds during aggressive encounters or when defending territory or food sources. The squeaking serves as a warning to other hummingbirds to back off and indicates that the hummingbird is prepared to chase or attack if needed. The rate of the squeaking typically increases along with the level of aggression.
This squeaking sound can occur year-round but is most frequent during the breeding season when hummingbirds are defending nesting sites and food sources. It may also occur at backyard feeders when one hummingbird tries to claim the feeder as its own turf and chases away intruders.
Buzzing
The buzzing or whirring sound made by the rapid flapping of a hummingbird’s wings is one of the most recognizable hummingbird sounds. Male hummingbirds produce buzzing during courtship displays in front of female hummingbirds. The male will climb up to 30-100 feet in the air and then quickly dive down past the female while buzzing loudly with his tail feathers spread. This display advertises the male’s fitness as a mate.
Hummingbirds may also produce buzzing noises with their wings when defending territories or chasing other birds away from food sources. The buzz serves as an audible warning signal for other hummingbirds to leave the area.
Chirping and Tweeting
Hummingbirds have surprisingly complex vocal abilities and can make twitching, chirping, or twittering sounds with their voices. These chattering vocalizations are used in a variety of social interactions between hummingbirds.
Some specific meanings of hummingbird chirps include:
- Contact call – A short single note used between parents and offspring or mates to locate each other.
- Begging call – Nestlings and fledglings make repetitive squeaking or whistling sounds when begging for food from parents.
- Distress call – Hummingbirds make an urgent high-pitched squealing when captured by predators.
- Aggressive call – Angry chattering used in conflicts with other hummingbirds.
- Courtship call – Specific vocalizations used by males during courtship displays for females.
The wide vocabulary of hummingbird chirps allows effective communication between individuals about threats, food sources, social status and mating.
Rattling and Clicking (Tail Sounds)
Hummingbirds can also produce non-vocal sounds with their tails. Males produce buzzing or rattling sounds with their tails during courtship displays to impress females. They do this by vibrating their tail feathers rapidly back and forth. The outer tail feathers have thin, stiff shafts that flutter loudly when shaken, producing the rattling noise. Females lack these specialized tail feathers and cannot make rattling sounds.
Another tail-related sound is a clicking noise produced by the tail feathers snapping shut at the end of aerial maneuvers. Both males and females can make tail clicking sounds when performing sudden stops or rapid directional changes during aggressive chases or elaborate courtship displays.
Trilling
One of the less common hummingbird sounds is a trilling vocalization made by some species during courtship displays. In Anna’s and Costa’s hummingbirds, males perform elaborate dive displays while making a loud trilling sound with their voices. The trills are produced through specialized feathering around the syrinx vocal organ.
Each dive consists of a loud burst of trills made at the bottom of the dive as the male flies upward. The trilling advertises the male’s presence and breeding condition to females.
Billing
Billing or bill clacking occurs when male and female hummingbirds grasp each other’s bills and crack them loudly back and forth. This behavior is seen during courtship as a way to strengthen pair bonds. The male and female may also preen each other while bill clacking.
Loud bill clacking or snapping sounds can function as a threatening signal in conflicts over food or territories.
Wind Sounds
The whistling, buzzing, or toneless wind sounds produced by hummingbird wings in flight can also provide information to bird watchers. The wind noise varies based on flight speed and wingbeat pattern. Higher pitched wind noises indicate faster flight during territorial chases or rapid loops and dives in courtship displays.
Lower, more muffled wind tones occur during hovering at flowers or slow foraging movement. The variations in wind noise allow you to visualize a hummingbird’s behavior just by listening carefully.
What Do Hummingbird Sounds Mean?
Here is a summary of what different hummingbird sounds signify:
| Sound | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Squeaking/Ticking | Territorial warning or aggression |
| Buzzing Wings | Courtship display, aggression, warning |
| Chirping | Contact call, begging call, distress call, courtship call |
| Rattling Tail | Male courtship display |
| Clicking Tail | Aerial maneuvering |
| Trilling | Specialized male courtship call |
| Billing | Courtship, aggression |
| Wind Noise | Indicates flight speed/motion |
Conclusion
Hummingbirds have a diverse repertoire of sounds that reveal their behaviors and activities. From subordinate chirps to aggressive buzzing, the variety of hummingbird sounds provides a window into their complex social lives. Paying careful attention to the noises hummingbirds make can help bird enthusiasts interpret the territorial battles, courtship rituals, parent-child interactions and alarm calls of these energetic birds.
