Violently territorial hummingbirds sometimes fight to their deaths! :O

Hummingbirds have long, pointy beaks - and they’re not afraid of using them!

Imagine being pierced through your heart by a hummingbird beak!

Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration… sorry!

Image credit: Science News Explores

But did you know hummingbirds, especially males, are extremely territorial? They will work hard to defend their territory. Lucky for these birds, though, most hummingbird beaks are actually softer and bendier than one would expect.

And while some species, like the Long-billed Hermit, have been known to stab at their rivals with their beaks, they rarely actually pierce through flesh.

Image credit: eBird. A Long-billed Hermit shows off his famous long bill.

This territorial behaviour isn’t unique to hummingbirds. Many other birds also fiercely defend their territories - for example, kingfishers have been recorded drowning their rivals by forcefully keeping their heads submerged under water!

Image credit: Caters News. Two male Common Kingfishers are seen in amazing riverside duel as they battle for territory. This was photographed along the Six Mile Water in Antrim, Northern Ireland.

When doing research on hummingbirds, an evolutionary biologist named Alejandro Rico-Guevara wondered why some male hummingbird beaks seemed to be stronger, straighter, and pointer than their female counterparts’ beaks. Some beaks were even equipped with dagger-like points along the side.

Image credit: The New York Times. The beak of a male tooth-billed hummingbird, found in the forests of Colombia, is adapted for battle!

Hummingbirds don’t need to slice open flowers to retrieve nectar, so why the weaponised beak? Simple - to defend their territory!

With hummingbirds, food comes first

Male hummingbirds need to defend their territory, and all of the flowers and females within it. Because they require so much nectar just to stay alive, they can't afford to share flowers. It makes sense when you realise that flowers stay in bloom for only a limited time, too.

Many male hummingbirds' territories are about the size of a quarter acre, which is 1012sqm. Considering the size of a 3-room HDB in Singapore is only 66sqm, that is a lot of space to defend for one so tiny!

And male hummingbirds do their job very well. Birdwatchers who are lucky enough to have access to bird feeders and hummingbirds will report that the birds will actively and aggressively chase away other hummingbirds. Dominant birds will charge at newcomers, while chirping and making loud sounds. In addition to using their beaks to stab at each other, hummingbirds will also ram into other birds.

Image credit: Perky Pet

In fact, the ancient Aztecs fashioned one of their most important deities after the hummingbird. The Aztec word for hummingbird is “huitzil”, and the Aztez God of War was named Huitzilopochtli, or 'Hummingbird of the South'.

Food really always comes first

It’s no surprise that such territorial birds live generally solitary, single lives. Unlike many other birds, they don’t keep to a flock (although you may see an abundance of them near sugar feeders on social media). They mate quickly, and dad birds are totally uninvolved when it comes to building nests, incubating eggs, or caring for the chicks. :(

Image credit: Birds & Blooms

These birds seem so single-minded when it comes to eating, that they don’t have time for coupling up and raising chicks together. (There may be something to say here about parents who focus on their careers so much, they neglect their children…?)

So don’t judge these little birds by their appearance. Though they look tiny, cuddly and ineffectual, they are actually fiercely territorial and ready to risk it all for some sugar!