How long is a hummingbirds tongue?

Ruby throated hummingbird, Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Sept 4, 2020.

Didn't realize I had caught it stick his tongue out.
Archilochus colubris
It turns out that hummingbirds use their tongues as elastic ‘micropumps’, which work in a similar way to how we drink from straws. Only they use elastic energy stored at the base of the tongue to bring up nectar, rather than creating a vacuum in a straw like we do. It’s more like how we take up liquids using a squeezy pipette.
And this is going on at seriously high speed – a hummingbird’s tongue will go in and out of a flower up to twenty times per second!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Golden-crowned kinglet.

Image
Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada, Oct 22, 2021. Flitting though the hedge, dashing to the water and gone again. Elapsed time 3 seconds or less. Regulus satrapa Though barely larger than a hummingbird, this frenetically active bird can survive –40 degree nights, sometimes huddling together for warmth. source- Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Read more

My Cat is Stranger Than Your Cat

Image
Okay this is weird; I’ll give you that right up front. We got Maggie from an animal shelter so we don’t know her background. We have found out that, if you don’t latch the bathroom door securely, Maggie will come crashing in to visit. She promptly climbs into your pants and makes herself comfortable. Now I don’t normally take a camera into the bathroom, however, this is regular thing with Maggie so, now you know the story. Sam, the black cat wants to know what Maggie is doing. Sam seemed quite upset over the blow to feline superiority.
Read more