Flight speeds of hummingbirds during foraging and territory defense


SOCIETY FOR INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY
2021 VIRTUAL ANNUAL MEETING (VAM)
January 3 – Febuary 28, 2021

Meeting Abstract


P22-7  Sat Jan 2  Flight speeds of hummingbirds during foraging and territory defense Hanna, R*; Sustaita, D; Hedrick, T; Rico-Guevara, A; University of Washington; California State University, San Marcos; University of North Carolina; University of Washington robhanna@uw.edu

Hummingbirds are capable of unparalleled flight speeds and maneuverability. These feats are utilized during courtship and territorial displays as well as combat. We studied the flight trajectories of various hummingbird species in Colombia in order to characterize the aggressive interactions both within and among species around artificial feeders. We filmed flight trajectories of individuals both attacking and freely departing from the feeders using multi-GoPro arrays. We then processed these videos using ARGUS to obtain 3D trajectories and used MatLab to obtain velocities and accelerations. Our objectives were: (1) To compare flight speeds between freely departing, attacking, and chased hummingbirds, to determine whether these trajectories vary based on the level of aggression. (2) To compare the differences in flight speeds between attacking and chased hummingbirds; are differences consistent across species? We ground-truthed our measurements by calculating the acceleration of gravity from parabolic trajectories of a standard object (tennis ball toss). Our preliminary data indicate a level of accuracy within 6.3%, on average. Thus far we found that the peak 3D velocities and accelerations vary based on the species; Amazilia franciae “attackers” achieved higher peak velocities and accelerations than those chased, while Amaziliae cyanifrons showed no real differences. The competitive interactions among and within these hummingbirds species around a feeding source allow us to quantify the biomechanical performance of their flight in a semi-natural context.

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