How Hummingbirds Devour Nectar

Researchers from the University of Connecticut led by functional morphologist Dr. Alejandro Rico-Guevara performed a recent study on how hummingbirds extract nectar from flowers.

Study results were published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

To understand how these pint-sized birds are able to lap up nectar, the study honed in on the mechanics of a hummingbird’s tongue.

Initially, it was believed that “capillary action, the force behind fluid rising in a narrow straw even without suction, propelled the nectar up the tongue,” according to The New York Times.

Guevara’s team put together a high-speed video, which actually revealed the tongue draws up the nectar too fast for capillary action to play a role.

Watch what they discovered below.