To us it sounds more like a motorboat: "put-put-put". From our observations, it happens during their molt, when old (wing) feathers are being shed as the new are emerging. I do not believe there is any reason for females not to go through the same thing with a similar noise.

chuck reinsch
magnolia, seattle, wa
creinsch at humbirds.org
----- Original Message -----
From: Leah Wegener
To: Tweeters
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2012 5:23 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] Hummingbird wing noise question


Hi, Tweets,
Is it true that only male hummingbirds make the VW engine noise with their wings, the noise that sounds kind of like a light saber? My son observed this in our yard but we cannot find any information that backs this up. I'm not thinking of the mating flight swoop, but just the everyday flying.

Thanks,
Leah Wegener
dlwegener at msn.com
Centralia, WA



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