How do hummingbirds drink nectar at frenetic speed?

Hummingbird bills — their long, thin beaks — look a little like drinking straws. The frenetic speed at which they get nectar out of flowers and backyard feeders may give the impression that the bills act as straws, too. But new research shows just how little water, or nectar, that comparison holds. Far from being a straw, the study reveals the surprising flexibility of the hummingbird bill. The team discovered that a drinking hummingbird rapidly opens and shuts different parts of its bill simultaneously, engaging in an intricate and highly coordinated dance with its tongue to draw up nectar at lightning speeds. Previous research showed that hummingbirds extend their tongues in rapid-fire movements when drinking nectar. But scientists did not know what role the bill itself played in feeding. By analysing the footage and combining it with data from micro-CT scans of hummingbird specimens, researchers discovered the intricate bill movements that underlie drinking — 1) to extend its tongue, the hummingbird opens just the tip of its bill, 2) after the tongue brings in nectar, the bill tip closes, 3) to draw nectar up the bill, the hummingbird keeps the bill’s midsection shut tightly, while opening the base slightly, and 4) then it opens its tip again to extend the tongue for a new cycle.