The sad video of the snoring hummingbird that moved the networks

A video of a hummingbird supposedly”snorewent viral on Twitter again. The strange sound emanating from the little bird has inevitably been shown to cause all kinds of sensations in Internet users.

Lee Trotthe user who re-uploaded it on the social network, wrote next to it: “The sound of a hummingbird snoring is just as adorable as you would expect it to be…”.

And the comments supported his description: “It looks like a rotten apple when it shuts up!”, “I love watching them drink from our feeders”, “Sure, hummingbird sores sound great. How could it not be.”

The truth behind the video

The truth is, the clip isn’t 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 were those who scientifically studied why the hummingbird makes a noise similar to a snore.

Hummingbird researcher at the University of Connecticut, Alejandro Rico Guevaraensures that “hummingbirds don’t snore”. He believes the sound the bird makes in the video “is not natural for resting behavior.”

Guevara suggests in a conversation with the Audubon site that “something about the bird is really wrong” because the open mouth and exposed tongue “feel weird.”

Although the man who recorded the video suggests that the hummingbird “snores” for additional oxygen to break out of torpor, the researcher reiterates that it’s not possible for the animal to make that much noise.

Rico-Guevara thinks it’s most likely an accent sound: “For me, this is a young man asking for help.”.

The researcher captured Amethyst-throated Sunangels in mist nests for his research and recalls that baby hummingbirds (he knows the individual is juvenile by the yellow coloration at the corner of their mouths) sometimes make distress noises similar to this one” snoring”.

It also 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, has assured this after filming it he saw the bird fly and leave in good condition.

The secret of his singing

Ecuadorian scientists have revealed that so-called hummingbirds can emit seductive melodies which only other specimens of the same species can hear, as they sing and hear in 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 about 13.4 kilohertz, a tune considered “ultrasonic” for birds, which generally can’t hear above 9 or 10 kilohertz.

Among birds, until now, the ability to hear ultrasonic sounds had only been demonstrated in a few species of owls. However, these use it to locate prey, but not to communicate or mate.