Nature Communications (Dec 2018)

Synchronization of speed, sound and iridescent color in a hummingbird aerial courtship dive

  • Benedict G. Hogan,
  • Mary Caswell Stoddard

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07562-7
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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Although components of animal mating signals are often studied separately, many animals produce complex multimodal displays. Here, the authors show that the courtship display of male broad-tailed hummingbirds consists of synchronized motions, sounds, and colors that occur within just 300 milliseconds.