The Sounds of Hummingbirds
While the sounds of hummingbirds are not exactly considered music, they definitely have a language all of their own. It would be more appropriate to call them chirps then it would be to call it music. However, by listening and learning what the hummingbirds are saying, you can tell what they are doing without looking directly at them.
Here at the World of Hummingbirds we keep a small catalog of the different sounds hummingbirds make with several ways to hear them. If you cannot hear them though the media player, you can click on the title of the sound to hear the hummingbird sounds. You can also hear the sounds by right clicking on the sound title to choose "Open. Or you can right click on the title of the sound and choose the "Save Target As" option.
There are some common sets of sounds that hummingbirds make. The first one is a simple little chirp. This is the most common sound a hummingbird will make. If you hear this little chirp sound somewhere, there is a good chance that there is a hummingbird nearby. They also have been known to use this little chirp when expressing their concern over a feeder not being filled fast enough. This usually occurs about 3 inches from the feeder fillers nose.
Another set of sounds that a hummingbird will make is the "Look at me, here I am" song. We here at the World of Hummingbirds timed a local hummingbird one day. This hummingbird sung this song for 23 minutes straight. Unfortunately he decided to do this very early in the morning and everyone knew exactly where he was. Good thing we like hummingbirds.
Hummingbirds can be wildly aggressive and will guard a feeder or group of flowers from others. Sometimes another hummingbird will come in to feed when the guarding hummingbird is not looking. This hummingbird sound is the sound a hummingbird will make when another hummingbird sneaks into a feeder that someone else thinks belongs to them.
As you can tell, the sounds of a hummingbird are quite amusing. They chirp in many more ways than are listed here. The best way to learn the language of your hummingbirds is to watch and listen. Soon you will be able to tell what is going on with your hummingbirds just by listening to the sounds they make.
