weigh in at just 0.2 ounces , theLong - charge Hermitdoesn’t seem like it would pose much of a menace to anything . But hummingbirds have what biologistAlejandro Rico - Guevaracalls an “ extremely hard-boiled nature . ” The cute little birds are touchy fighters , and when the normally solitary males come up together to attract female with their vocalizing and then compete for a chance to mate , scuffles often break out . One male will approach another and endeavor to chase him away from his tattle perch , and then the two will trip the light fantastic around and attempt to hop on each other while bobbing their heads and snapping their beaks . As the confrontation escalates , Rico - Guevara has seen the birds seek to stab each other in the throat with their beaks , using them like small dagger .
It ’s these beaks that put male and female Hermits aside . They look very similar to one another , except that the distaff and adolescent birds have even top and bottom beaks , while grownup Male have a decided overbite and the top part of the beak ends in a sharp , acerate leaf - similar distributor point . In other hummingbird coinage where where males ’ and females ’ beak are n’t the same , the difference is usually explained by feeding habit . The two sexual activity feed on unlike plants to limit competition for food , and their bill are adjust to their different menus . But male and female Long - billed Hermits all feed from the same plants , and after find out the males stab at each other , Rico - Guevara wondered if the Male ’ pointier bills had evolved for fighting instead of prey .
To chance out , he and biologistMarcelo Araya - Salasstudied the hiss during four facts of life season in Costa Rica . Theycomparedthe sizing and shape of male and female beaks , chase the development of the needle - alike tips in male person as they grew , test the puncture capableness of the different doll ’ snoot and watched as the males fought over mates .
The researchers confirmed that only manly razz had the longer , pointier upper nib , and that they explicate them only as they transitioned into adulthood and were ready to startle pair and vie with each other . The adult male person ’ beaks were also able to penetrate a charge plate sheet more easily than the females ’ or the young birds ’ snout and , in real - humans conflict , the Bronx cheer with the gravid and pointiest nib were indeed better capable to defend their territory and gain more access to females for mating . All of this , er , level to the sharp - tipped beak evolving as a artillery for male - vs.-male combat , says Rico - Guevara , and makes it the “ the first documented sexually dimorphic weapon system in hummingbirds . ”
you may see the the hummingbird fight and land a few blow with their grimace blade in this video from the researchers .
