Are Magnifications on Binoculars and Monoculars Genuine ?

Here is the blunt truth.

I have done a lot of shopping for binoculars and occasionally monoculars too. I find that a lot of sellers know very little about optics, and some of them give ridiculous exaggerations at best, and tell outright lies at worst.

There are many suppliers however that are honest (Celestron is one of the honest ones), and even have parts of their websites expertly explain optics to you, the shopper.

If you read a claim that sounds fantastic, it always is (a fantasy), so move on. :-)

I looked at the Celestron 9x-27x spotting scope. Those numbers are correct, I'm certain. I have a 20x 80mm binoculars and that's not so much different. It works. It really is 20x. I also have a 10x binoculars. Yes, my 20x binoculars is more powerful than my 10x binoculars, but it isn't a totally different world. It only has a little more magnification than the 10x.

I think the issue is your perspective. 27x really isn't a lot different from 10x. Neither are as powerful as a 200x telescope, you know. I'm thinking that your "WTF lol" means you are likely not an expert at determining a scope's magnification. Be satisfied with your Celestron, it shows you what 27x magnification is like.

I think you don't have the 27X set in the Celestron

The difference between 27X and 10X is significant, like 27X you can see a Dinty Moore stew can at one mile,,10X, you can't see it at all.

27X is really too powerful for bird watching anyway.

The name 'hummingbird' for the Celestron is because it is so small, it is a spotting scope, sometimes fixed to much larger telescopes.

I doubt they were 27x as they would hardly be usable. Probably a mm measure, not magnification.

Most people end up with 8x42 or maybe 10x42

I like the Monarch 5, or 7

Since you are asking this in the astronomy section (where we know about binoculars and "monoculars" (telescopes)):

Magnification means very little. It is simply the ratio of the focal distance of the main objective (usually the larger front piece) to that of the eyepiece (the smaller one next to your eye).

For example, a magnification of 10x simply means that if you are looking at an object that subtends an angle of half a degree to the naked eye (for example, the Moon), you will see it subtend an apparent diameter of 5 degrees.

Magnification does NOT mean that you will see it ten times better.  The amount of details (clarity) comes from the diameter of the main objective (and the quality of the glass).

Other than this, apparent "power" is subjective.  If you compare a 7x50 binocular with a 10x20 monocular, you will find that the Moon looks much better (albeit a bit smaller) in the binoculars. You will get much clearer craters in the binoculars because you would be looking with TWO 50 millimeter objectives, instead of one 20-mm objective. Your brain will, therefore, conclude that the binoculars have more "power".

Even though the monocular promises you a "ten-times-closer" view of the Moon, you will get (roughly) ten times less details than with the binoculars.

Having said that, have you tried side-by-side comparison with a fixed target? (Hummingbirds don't always stand still while you look at them).  Since you alerady have both instruments, compare them under different conditions (bright daylight, dim twilight, distant objects, etc.)