Hummingbirds sing with their tail feathers

Many species of hummingbird produce distinctive sounds with their tail-feathers, which flutter in airflow. Here, I show some of their displays along with the sounds they make. I tested hummingbird tail-feathers in a wind tunnel to determine how the sounds are made. This video shows the results of the study, and includes animations and high-speed videos of feathers in a wind tunnel. Photos courtesy Anand Varma, www.varmaphoto.com