A video of a supposedly hummingbird “snore”Went viral on Twitter again. It has always been proven that the strange sound emanating from the little bird causes all kinds of sensations in Internet users.
Lee Trottothe user who uploaded it to the social network wrote next to it: “The sound of a hummingbird snoring is as adorable as you would expect it to be …”.
And the comments supported his description: “It looks like a rotten apple when its beak is closed!”, “I love seeing them drink from our feeders”, “Sure, hummingbird sickness makes a great sound. How could it not be? “
The truth behind the video
The truth is that the clip is not new, nor is the hummingbird believed to be “snoring”. The reality is slightly sadder.
The video is from 2012. It was recorded and edited by an ornithology master’s student. When it went viral, there was no shortage of those who scientifically studied why the hummingbird makes a noise similar to snoring.
Hummingbird Researcher at the University of Connecticut, Alejandro Rico-Guevaraensures that “hummingbirds don’t snore“. He believes that the sound the bird makes in the video is “unnatural for resting behavior”.
Guevara suggests in a conversation with Audubon’s website that “something about the bird is really wrong” because the open mouth and exposed tongue “are weird”.
Although the man who recorded the video suggests that the hummingbird “snores” to absorb additional oxygen to get out of torpor, the researcher reiterates that it is not possible for the animal to make so much noise.
Rico-Guevara believes it is most likely a stressful sound: “For me, this is a young man asking for help“.
The researcher captured Amethyst-throated Sunangels in the mist nests for his research and recalls that small hummingbirds (he knows that the individual is young with yellow coloring at the corner of the mouth) sometimes make noises of distress similar to this ” snore”.
Also, it makes no sense to him that a sleepy bird snores all night in a forest full of predators: “Snoring is not adaptive!”
The publisher of the video, however, assured him after filming it he saw the bird fly and leave in good condition.
The secret of his song
Ecuadorian scientists have revealed that so-called hummingbirds can emit seduction melodies which only other specimens of the same species can hear, as they sing and hear with tones beyond the known range of other birds.
The research, published in mid-2020 in the journal Science Advances, shows that the ballad emitted by Chimborazo hummingbirds (Oreotrochilus Chimborazo) to seduce females is sung at around 13.4 kilohertz, a considered tune. “ultrasonic“for birds, which generally cannot hear above 9 or 10 kilohertz.
Among birds, until now, it has been possible to demonstrate only in some species of owls the ability to hear ultrasonic sounds. These, however, use it to locate prey, but not to communicate or mate.
Source: Clarin
