Dive-bombing for love: Male hummingbirds dazzle females with a highly synchronized display

(Princeton University) Male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds perform dramatic aerial courtship dives to impress females. In a new study, scientists have shown that diving males closely time key events to produce a burst of signals for the viewer. They synchronize maximal horizontal speed, loud noises generated with their tail feathers, and a display of their iridescent throat-patch (gorget), performed in a mere 300 milliseconds -- roughly the duration of a human blink.

from EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science https://ift.tt/2UTtpxG