Learning How Hummingbird's Drink

We recently came across an online article regarding how Hummingbird's drink which we wanted to share with you.  We are still learning the "how's and why's" of these beautiful creatures and found this experiment to be fascinating.  Here's an excerpt from the article, but be sure to also watch the video demonstrating the phenomenon.  Watch Now!

"New high-speed videos of hummingbirds overturn nearly two centuries of conventional wisdom on how they drink.  Researchers previously thought tube-like channels in their tongues sucked up fluid by capillary action, but the new analysis shows that their tongues actually trap nectar by curling around it." - Read More Now - Click Here.

Video: Alejandro Rico-Guevara

Citation: "The hummingbird tongue is a fluid trap, not a capillary tube." Alejandro Rico-Guevara and Margaret A. Rubega.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Published online May 2, 2011.

Photo by Dave Mosher / Wired.com

Posted: 2012-03-28