Less like Tinkerbell, more like Zorro!

 

If you have spent any time watching hummingbirds at a feeder, it quickly becomes obvious that they are not delicate little fairies, but intense cut-throat swashbucklers!

We want to help people learn about the dark side of hummingbirds - their bad-ass fighting! By using high-speed cameras, we can slow down the impressive fights and observe them fencing with their bills, plucking feathers, grabbing with their feet, and basically using anything they can to attack their opponent.

And they don't only fight within species! Hummingbirds will attack males, females, and juveniles of their species and any other hummingbird species that enters their territory! We have even seen them attack songbirds and bees!

Help us so that we can understand the unique trade-offs of making your mouth into a weapon!! So far, we have found the only case of males modifying their bills into weapons. Not only is modifying the mouth or feeding apparatus into a weapon rarely seen in nature, this is also one of the few examples of male weaponry in birds.