Introducing Animals

Hummingbird may get promoted

Not just a subspecies: A flashy, squeaky bird should become its own species, ornithologists argue

hummingbird

ON ITS OWN  The Inaguan lyretail, a kind of bee hummingbird demoted to subspecies decades ago, might be reinstated as a species in its own right.

Anand Varma/www.varmaphoto.com

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

A flashy little hummingbird in the Bahamas could get upgraded to full species status, thanks to research that began with noise-making tail feathers.