Secrets of the Hummingbird Tongue Unlocked: How These Jeweled Birds Feed

First Posted: Aug 19, 2015 11:11 AM EDT

Scientists may have unlocked the secrets of hummingbird tongues. Researchers have found that the birds' tongues act as elastic micropumps and that fluid is actually drawn into the tongue by the elastic expansion of the tongue's grooves.

Scientists have long wondered about the exact physics surrounding hummingbird tongues. That's why they decided to take a closer look.

Researchers took measurements from seven countries throughout the Americas where free-living, never handled hummingbirds were feeding at modified transparent feeders simulating nectar volumes and concentrations of hummingbird pollinated flowers. The scientists measured 96 foraging bouts and 32 focal birds belonging to 18 species from seven out of the nine main hummingbird clads.

In the hundreds of licks studied, the researchers saw capillarity only once, acting on a single tongue groove. This occurred when, during initial tongue protrusion, one of the groove tips adhered to the feeder wall before the tip reached the surface of the nectar pool and the groove tip bent as the tongue continued to move forward.

Thanks to this unusual incident, the researchers captured one of the two grooves being filled by expansive filling on high speed video. The other was being filled by capillarity.

"Our research shows how hummingbirds really drink and provides the first mathematical tools to accurately model their energy intake, which in turn informs our understanding of their foraging decisions and ecology," said Alejandro Rico Guevara, one of the researchers, in a news release.

The findings reveal a bit more about hummingbirds. More specifically, it shows how these jewel-like birds feed from the flowers that they rely on for their survival.

The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

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TagsHummingbird, Physics, Birds, bird, Environment, Tropical, Flower