Humming Bird With an Incredible Tail Does a Mating Dance (Video)
by Jaymi Heimbuch, San Francisco, California
on 11. 6.09

It's Friday, and therefore time to sit back and enjoy some sigh-worthy beauty compliments of Mother Nature. This is the spatuletail hummingbird - one of the rarest birds, with an absolutely amazing tail...and mating dance. Check out how this little guy manages to fly in order to attract a female. It's stunning.
BBC Earth News shows off the video, and states, "The species lives in just a few locations in Peru, and is unusual not just because of its rarity, but also because of its extreme mating behaviour.... [T]he bird has just four tail feathers. In males, two of these feathers grow to three or four times the bird's body length, each ending in a large violet-blue disc; the spatule."
Thanks to the high speed filming of the dance, researchers found out that the snapping sound isn't actually the tail feathers smacking together, but a vocalization from the bird. Very little is known about the spatuletail hummingbird, so capturing it on film like this is a treasure.
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