- The Red-billed Streamertail Hummingbird is found only in Jamaica.
- Jamaicans refer to this bird as the "doctor bird." The reason for this is because its tail feathers cross in such a way that resembles the old-fashion coattails worn by doctors.
- When this bird is in flight its tail produces a high pitched humming noise because of the uniquely scalloped and fluted streamers of the bird’s tail.
- It is the national bird of Jamaica.
2 replies on “Red-billed Streamertail Hummingbird”
I wandered on this website a little while back and I absolutely can not get enough! Please keep writing!
The above information about the humming sound produced by tail feathers is incorrect.
Please see
Biology Letters Published online 27 May 2008
Fluttering wing feathers produce the flight sounds of male streamertail hummingbirds
Christopher James Clark
Available for download at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2610162/pdf/rsbl20080252.pdf