Down in the cloud forests of the Andes of South America a bird uses is feathers to sing to females. Bird experts have long wondered how the club-winged manakin "sings" from its feathers and not from its beak and now they know. The male club-winged manakin vibrates its feathers together to form a violin like sound to attract females.
The theory of the male club-winged manakin singing through its feathers emerged in 2005. Kimberly Bostwick theorized that the bird was using a club-shaped feather and vibrating it against a neighboring feather to produce the sounds. The frequency of the sound is 1500 hertz when the feathers are vibrated together.
A team of scientists traveled to South America to prove that the manakin vibrates its feathers. They used lasers and discovered that the feathers produced a frequency of 1500 hertz, which proved Bostwick’s theory correct. Also, Bostwick found that there aren’t just two feathers, but more as well that contribute to the interesting sound of the manakin.
This is very interesting find and can help with other birds that use their wings to make certain sounds.
Check out this awesome video of the club-winged manakin singing with its wings.
Video source: Cornell Lab of Ornithology
