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Blue-throated Mountain-gem Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Complex song
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San Luis Potosí, June 07, 2016Recorded by Andrew Spencer / Macaulay Library
Song
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San Luis Potosí, June 07, 2016Recorded by Andrew Spencer / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Texas, May 04, 1961Recorded by Robert B. Angstadt / Macaulay Library
Calls
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San Luis Potosí, June 07, 2016Recorded by Andrew Spencer / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Songs

During courtship, males give a very quiet “whisper” song lasting up to 8 seconds in the presence of a female. Females respond with a similar song, often as the male is singing. Males’ songs differ throughout the species’ range and even from canyon to canyon. Males also mark territory for feeding with a long series of loud tseep calls, all on the same pitch, repeated every 1–2 seconds for long periods, usually from an elevated perch. They give this simple, monotonous song for much of the year but especially from March through August in the morning. It is common to be able to hear more than one singing male at a time.

Calls

Males often give a clipped chip call, females less often and usually only when defending nest.

Other Sounds

Wing noise is sometimes audible in this large species. Fighting males sometimes strike their bills together, making a surprisingly loud snapping or cracking sound.

Compare with Similar Species

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Species in This Family

Hummingbirds(Order: Caprimulgiformes, Family: Trochilidae)

Rivoli's Hummingbird

Blue-throated Mountain-gem

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