Hummingbirds are some of the smallest, yet most well-known birds in North America. Like tiny jewels, they fly around at breakneck speed, performing acrobatics around foliage and feeders alike.
Many backyard birders are surprised to discover that hummingbirds sing buzzy songs and chirp loudly. What do those calls mean, and why do hummingbirds chirp?
Why Do Hummingbirds Chirp?
Once you recognized their high-pitched squeals and chirps, they can be of great help spotting them in the wild. Often in a busy forest full of foliage, you’ll hear hummingbirds before you see them.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the motivations behind why hummingbirds chirp. Here are a few points that we’ll take a look at further on.
Key Takeaways:
- Hummingbirds are social creatures that chirp to defend territory, impress potential mates, and communicate with their young.
- The “chirp” you hear from a hummingbird could come from their voicebox, or also sounds produced by air rushing through their feathers.
Why Do Hummingbirds Chirp?
Hummingbirds chirp to communicate with one another. When individuals run into each other, they communicate through a series of chirps and whistles.
Hummingbird interaction often leads to territorial conflict, since hummingbirds are small, yet aggressive. They are intensely possessive about their home turf. Most will loudly vocalize their objection to sharing nectar sources with other hummingbirds.
Male hummingbirds chirp often to attract mates. Along with buzzy songs, most hummingbirds, such as the ruby-throated hummingbird, perform dazzling arial displays that end with a squeak from the tail feathers.
They also chirp to delineate the borders of their feeding territory. This warns competing hummingbirds not to enter the singing hummingbird’s space. If they do, they’ll be chased out of the area with a loud, buzzy song.
Do hummingbirds sing?
Singing is not as common in hummingbirds as it is in other bird species. Yes, they can sing, but it is not the long and melodious songs you are used to hearing from songbirds like cardinals or thrushes. Most of the sounds that hummingbirds are able to make using their voicebox (the syrinx) sound like chirps or whistles.
In fact, the very name “hummingbird” indicates that most of the sound they generate is more like a hum than a song. This ‘hum’ comes from the sound of air moving through their rapidly beating wings, beating between 23 and 60 times per second. This hum can always be heard while they are flying, and sounds a bit like the hum of an electric fan or tiny motor boat.
The male