World Report Now

Breaking News

Thursday, April 22, 2021
Log in
  • Headlines
  • U.S.
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Sci-Tech
  • About/Contact
  • Staff
  • Latest News
    • 7-Year-Old Dead Body Found in a Chimney
    • Is Watching Porn a Healthy Habit
    • The Only Poisonous Snake Species in Michigan Protected by Law
    • Largest Penis Record Holder Refuses Penile Reduction Surgery
    • 2016’s Funniest Passwords
    • Stop Rage Quitting and Take It like a Man
    • Miracle Cure For Autism is Dangerous
    • Best PC Games to Play with An Xbox 360 Controller
    • Gene Responsible for Gray Hair Was Discovered
    • Diabulimia Is a Dangerous New Threat for Diabetic People
    • Google Launches ‘Feeling Woof’ and ‘Feeling Meow’ Apps as Part of April Fool’s
    • Facebook and Instagram Servers Went Down, Leaving Users Confused
    • Hero Golden Retriever Saves Owner from Blizzard
    • UAE Astronomers Want to Grow Crops on Mars
    • Starbucks Shares Plummet as U.S. Membership Growth Turns Backwards

Pages

  • About/Contact
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Staff
  • Terms and Conditions

Recent Posts

  • Rivers on Earth Occupy a Much Bigger Surface than Researchers Thought (Study) June 29, 2018
  • Seeing the Same Doctor Might Make You Live Longer (Study) June 29, 2018
  • Researchers Reveal the Secret Behind the Domestication Process of Dogs June 28, 2018
  • Stars Are Separated by Toxic Space Grease Made of Carbon (Study) June 28, 2018
  • Instagram Welcomes Video Chat, Topic Channels, and New Photo Filters June 27, 2018
  • South Korean Judges Sentence an Overwatch Hacker to One Year in Prison June 26, 2018
  • Plus Size Normalization Increases the Obesity Problem (Study) June 25, 2018
Home » Science » Hummingbird Tongues are Weird

Hummingbird Tongues are Weird

August 19, 2015 by Henry Williams Leave a Comment

Hummingbird Tongues are Weird

Hummingbird are these living muses in bird town, who look fascinating, live a fascinating life and sing noisy and territorial songs, not that fascinating. Well, maybe we would all be so if we drank nectar all day and got drunk by the fulfilling taste of it. Scientists have long speculated that the creatures used capillary action to sip nectar. This capillary action is like when you place a tube in a glass of liquid and see the water travel up through the narrow space without any suction force.

Well, scientists were wrong. Hummingbird tongues are weird. So weird that they act like elastic micro pumps, allowing the creatures to sip at extremely rapid speeds.

Researchers have conducted a study to prove the finding and the results were gathered in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

It seems that the grooves in the bird’s tongue don’t work to reach the throat and this means that the creature cannot use them as tiny straws. Their suction power works like a tiny pump instead of using vacuum, as it was previously thought.

The bird works its magic and squashes the tongue flat and when it springs open, the expansion quickly pulls the nectar into the spaces in its tongue. As experts have noted, their tongues work on elastic energy, namely a kind of potential mechanical energy which is stored by the process of flattening the tongue.

This entire complex process allows the creatures to collect and ingest nectar much faster than they could have done it through capillary processes.

Basically, humming birds rapidly slurp up nectar.

To come up with the extremely interesting findings, researchers took measurements from seven countries belonging to the American continent. They had the chance to observe free living, never captured hummingbirds that did their thing, sipped nectar, fled all day long, squashed their tongues and were liberated and happy.

They analyzed the creatures feeding at modified transparent feeders which simulated nectar volumes and concentration of hummingbird pollinated flowers. Ultimately, experts have measured 96 foraging bouts and 32 focal birds belonging to 18 species from seven out of the total of nine main hummingbird species.

Image Source: naturedocumentaries.org

Filed Under: Science

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Left brain hemisphere made of circuits next to a right brain hemisphere made of paintbrush lines

Norman the Psychopath AI Shows Us the Dangers of Artificial Intelligence

June 7, 2018 By Henry Williams Leave a Comment

atom illustration

New Study Analyzes Unique State of Matter, an Atom Full of Atoms (Study)

February 27, 2018 By Renee Randazzo Leave a Comment

sunflares on the surface of the sun

The Sun Expected to Get Dimmer and Cooler, According to New Study (Study)

February 13, 2018 By Renee Randazzo Leave a Comment

expedition 54 crew members

Three New Astronauts Join ISS Crew

December 21, 2017 By Renee Randazzo Leave a Comment

Person scrolling on a smartphone

Austrian Designer Challenges Smartphone Addiction by Creating a Substitute Phone for You to Scroll On

November 28, 2017 By Henry Williams Leave a Comment

Molecules of E. coli bacteria

Researchers Created the First Tape Recorder Bacteria by Using the CRISPR Techique

November 25, 2017 By Peggy Schmidt Leave a Comment

Interview at Web Summit held in front of the event's colored panel

Tech Experts Propose Artificial Enhancement of the Brain During This Year’s Web Summit

November 11, 2017 By Henry Williams Leave a Comment

Bright elliptical galaxy

Researchers Spot Distant Galaxy Almost as Old as the Big Bang (Study)

November 9, 2017 By Peggy Schmidt Leave a Comment

Offshore wind turbines of a wind farm

An Ocean Wind Farm Might Offer an Unlimited Energy Supply

October 11, 2017 By Renee Randazzo Leave a Comment

turbines used in wind energy submerged in water

Underwater Turbines Produce Electricity By Using the Power of the Waves

September 25, 2017 By Renee Randazzo Leave a Comment

overwatch screenshot

Next Free Weekend on Overwatch Starts Sept 22, Yet Updates Are Still Slow

September 17, 2017 By Peggy Schmidt Leave a Comment

children in classroom

Scientists Concluded that Later School Time Could Improve U.S. National Economy

September 5, 2017 By Renee Randazzo Leave a Comment

mark zuckerberg

Facebook Is Determined to Launch Flagship Video Chat Hardware in May 2018

August 25, 2017 By Dawn Saunders Leave a Comment

agents of mayhem poster

Agents of Mayhem Is a Refreshing Video Game from the Saints Row Universe

August 17, 2017 By Renee Randazzo Leave a Comment

Categories

  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Headlines
  • Health
  • Nature
  • Sci-Tech
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • U.S.
  • Uncategorized
  • World

Copyright © 2021 · Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in