Hummingbirds Adapt Flexible Bills

This is a nectar news story, published by ScienceDaily, that relates primarily to the UW Department of Biology news.

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Hummingbird bills

ScienceDaily

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That's no straw: Hummingbirds evolved surprisingly flexible bills to help them drink nectar

Summary

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81% Informative

Hummingbirds evolved surprisingly flexible bills to help them drink nectar.

While drinking, a hummingbird rapidly opens and shuts different parts of its bill simultaneously, engaging in an intricate dance with its tongue to draw up nectar at lightning speeds.

To extend its tongue, the hummingbird opens just the tip of the bill - After the tongue brings in nectar , the bill tip closes - Then, it opens its tip again to extend the tongue for a new cycle.

The research was funded by the Walt Halperin Endowed Professorship in the UW Department of Biology , the Washington Research Foundation and U.K. Research and Innovation .

The research is published in the Journal of The Royal Society Interface , 2024 ; 21 ( 220 ) DOI: 10.1098/10.2024 .

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