Hummingbirds Extracting Nectar
For years scientists assumed that hummingbirds passively extracted nectar from flowers with their tongue through capillary action, but it turns out that this is not the case. A hummingbird’s forked tongue (which is twice as long as its beak) is lined with hair-like extensions or fringes called lamellae. When it is inserted into a flower and immersed in fluid, the tongue separates and the lamellae extend outwards so that open grooves (between the lamellae) lay flat. As the hummingbird pulls its tongue into its mouth, the forked tips come together and the lamellae roll inward, trapping the nectar within the tongue until it is swallowed by the hummingbird. No output of energy is necessary on the part of the bird – this process is automatic, takes all of 1/20th of a second, and occurs thousands of times a day. (Thanks to Ginny Barlow for Ruby-throated Hummingbird photo op.)
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Do Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers Really Suck Sap?
My apologies for not posting yesterday — two days without electricity or telephone!
A tell-tale sign of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker activity is the presence of rows of 1/4–inch holes, often drilled in Sugar Maples and birch trees in order to gain access to their nutritious phloem sap. Once the sap begins to flow, sapsuckers insert their tongues into these holes. Here is where their name is misleading, as sapsuckers don’t actually suck the sap, they lap it up with the aid of tiny hair-like projections on the edge of their tongue, which hold the sap by capillary action (see insert). Each flick of the tongue brings more sap into the woodpecker’s mouth.
Because sap is so essential to a tree, wounds are quickly healed over to prevent loss of sap. Scientists still have not figured out how sapsuckers overcome a tree’s defenses and maintain a continuous flow of sap. One theory is that sapsucker saliva may contain a substance that acts as an anticoagulant, preventing sap from clogging up and sealing over the holes the bird creates.
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