Complex Vocalizations and Aerial Displays of the Amethyst-throated Hummingbird (Lampornis amethystinus)

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>Long considered to utter only simple calls, hummingbirds are now known to produce songs distinct from calls. Some species have complex songs, but their acoustic characteristics, structure and organization, function, and the evolution of vocal repertoires are not completely known. Here, we describe the aerial display and most common vocalizations of Amethyst-throated Hummingbird (Lampornis amethystinus) under different behavioral contexts, during its breeding season in western Mexico. We identified four types of vocalizations: (1) a territorial call, produced mainly by males often in response to another neighbor's chattering, when leaving his territory, and during chases; (2) feeding call, given mostly while foraging; (3) display call, a series of descendent frequency whistle notes, given while performing aerial displays; and (4) song, composed of an introductory phrase and a mixture of notes arranged into four to nine complex phrases, covering a wide frequency range. Our observations of horizontal aerial displays are the first for Amethyst-throated Hummingbirds. Comparisons with L. amethystinus congeners indicated similarities in song complexity. Our results supported the hypothesis that the evolution of diverse acoustic signals may be favored, independently of habitat characteristics, by the complex foraging interactions that hummingbirds experience every day as they need to communicate intra- and interspecifically.</jats:p>

Vocalizations and Associated Behaviors of the Sombre Hummingbird (Aphantochroa Cirrhochloris) and the Rufous-Breasted Hermit (Glaucis Hirsutus)

“…In general, Sombre Hummingbird calls were used mostly in defense of a food-centered territory. Similar conclusions have been reached for other trochilines (Stiles 1982;Rusch et al 1996Rusch et al , 2001Ornelas et al 2002). A direct advantage of having territorial vocalizations would be the assurance of access to food and thus reproductive success; good territories make males more attractive to females (Wolf and Stiles 1970).…”

“…Tropical hummingbirds have been the subject of ecological studies that have focused largely on their interactions with plants (Buzato et al 2000, Ornelas et al 2004. By contrast, their vocal behavior is largely unstudied, with only one detailed study on acoustic structure, syntax, and behavioral context of calls and song (Ornelas et al 2002) and few such studies on songs (Snow 1968, Wiley 1971, Gaunt et al 1994. Here, we studied the vocalizations and associated behaviors of two tropical species: the Sombre Hummingbird (Aphantochroa cirrhochloris) and the Rufous-breasted Hermit (Glaucis hirsutus).…”

A striking, critically endangered, new species of hillstar (Trochilidae: Oreotrochilus) from the southwestern Andes of Ecuador

“…Plumage characters that distinguish O. cyanolaemus are discrete, and both males and females Moreover, we argue that differentiation in plumage characters may be indicative of reproductive isolation between O. cyanolaemus and other species. The most striking plumage trait that characterizes O. cyanolaemus, color of gorget, has been identified as important during sexual displays in other species of hummingbirds (e.g., Stiles 1982, Ornelas et al 2002. Together with intensity of song and shuttle display, postures that show crown and gorget to ''maximum effect'' (of structural colors) have been proposed as the most critical displays as isolating mechanisms in Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna), ''occurring as they do at close quarters immediately before copulation'' (Stiles 1982).…”

Molecular and iridescent feather reflectance data reveal recent genetic diversification and phenotypic differentiation in a cloud forest hummingbird

“…Feather coloration between the chest and throat of females is dusky cinnamon, a pigment-based color that is likely constrained in their expression by metabolic pathways (Prum et al 2012;Maia et al 2013a) and, therefore, their color variation was out of the scope of this study. We only measured iridescent gorget feathers based on apparent use of these ornaments in male courtships and agonistic displays and the nonornamental iridescent green back feathers is perhaps not sexually selected but under natural selection to aid in crypsis while perched (Ornelas et al 2002;Meadows et al 2012). Because measured feathers were iridescent (reflectance spectra change depending on the geometry of illumination and perception), reflectance measurements were taken at a 45°angle, while the illumination angle was fixed at 90° (Osorio and Ham 2002;Parra 2010).…”

“…Lampornis amethystinus is a resident hummingbird species to the cloud forest in the Mesoamerican highlands ( Fig. 1), with complex vocalizations and aerial displays (Ornelas et al 2002) and disjunct distribution spanning the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (TMVB), Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra de Los Tuxtlas, and Sierra Madre del Sur to the interior highlands of Chiapas, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras (Howell and Webb 1995). The species is composed of two groups: the widespread amethystinus with males showing gorgets glittering rose-pink (amethyst), and margaritae restricted from Michoac an to Oaxaca (possibly sympatric with amethystinus in southern Oaxaca) with gorgets glittering bluish violet (Howell and Webb 1995).…”