It’s spring, and the avian residents of Capitol Hill are looking to mate. The Anna’s hummingbird, one of the more common birds in our area, has a courtship display that ranks among the most spectacular in the world — and the middle of March is one of the best times of year to see it.
The male Anna’s is a tiny bird, about four inches long, with an iridescent red hood and throat. To perform the mating display, he flies high overhead, hovers for a moment, and then dives. He reaches a speed of about sixty miles per hour, then pulls to an abrupt stop with a high-pitched squeak.
This sound isn’t vocal; it comes from the high-speed air passing through the feathers of his tail. And the stop is so sudden that his body undergoes about 10 Gs of force — enough to make some human fighter pilots black out.
Sexy, eh? Apparently female hummingbirds think so.
This mating display is quite a sight — and it’s not hard to catch. The male typically dives and squeaks dozens of times in a row, or more, so if you watch for it when you’re out walking, you’re likely to spot it happening eventually.
The hummingbird mating season lasts several months, but personally, I’ve had the most luck seeing it at this time of year. If you want to go out looking, the Washington Park Arboretum is a great place to start — but hummingbirds aren’t choosy about where they hang out. Anywhere with trees and flowers will do.
Interested in learning more?
- For fun facts and general information on Anna’s hummingbirds, see their page at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- To watch a video on hummingbird ecology, see the PBS documentary Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air. The video’s fourth section, “The Mating Game,” takes a detailed look at the mating display of the Anna’s hummingbird.
- Hear the song of the Anna’s hummingbird here
Melissa Koosmann is a freelance writer and a recent addition to Capitol Hill. She writes about education, culture, gardening and nature — and, sometimes, birds for CHS.
I got to watch two of them doing the deed right outside my living room window. For as graceful as they are in the air, hummingbirds look ridiculous and awkward when they’re flailing about on the ground during sexytimes.
Thanks alot for your post….very interesting! I’ll definitely be looking for this phenomenon on my morning walks.
A question: Does our miserable “spring” weather of late influence when the birds mate? Or are there some other factors that put them “in the mood.”?
Good question. I’m afraid I don’t know the answer for certain. But generally speaking, hummingbird breeding times correlate to spring flowering, so it’s a good bet that global climate change will have an effect eventually, even if it hasn’t already.
It’s worth noting that the Anna’s hummingbirds have expanded their range northward recently. The fact that they winter in our region is fairly new. The change may be correlated with climate change and with human suburban gardening/bird feeding habits.
There are a few h-birds in my ‘hood. There is a nest with babies in it in my neighbor’s viburnum bush already (in February)in spite of the cold weather!
Hate to break it to you, Rebecca, but it’s March! (lol)