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Not Just Any Nectar Will Do
The sweet stuff attracts more species than hummingbirds.
© Christopher C. Witt
Hummingbirds such as this Buff-tailed Sicklebill specialize in nectar feeding. But other species of birds, less specialized to nectar, also visit flowers for a taste of the sweet stuff. The flowers they visit likely have a more open shape, with nectar more accessible to a non-specialist’s bill. The sugar they sample is probably different from what hummingbirds prefer. As flowering plants and birds co-evolved, each to benefit from the other, it seems likely that plants evolved the type of sugar best suited to the pollinators on hand. It's a win-win for all concerned.
BirdNote®
Birds, Nectar, Sugar
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote.
To a connoisseur, not all sugars taste the same.
A hummingbird dips its long, slender bill into a scarlet, tube-shaped flower to reach the nectar deep within. When it flies off, the bird carries pollen from the plant, which it rubs off on the next flower from which it sips. Like some bees, hummingbirds specialize in nectar feeding, and are essential pollinators.
Even though they also eat tiny insects, they are the ultimate nectar connoisseurs. And the sugar they prefer and seek in flowers is sucrose.
Other kinds of birds, less specialized to nectar, also visit flowers for a taste of the sweet stuff. The flowers they visit likely have a more open shape, with nectar more ac-cessible to a non-specialist’s bill. These birds may still be important pollinators. But the sugar they sample is likely different from what hummingbirds prefer.[Hummingbird]
As flowering plants and birds co-evolved, each to benefit from the other, it seems likely that plants evolved the type of sugar best suited to the pollinators on hand, offering it in their flowers.
It's a win win for all concerned: the plants, that need the birds, and the birds, that want the sugar. But not just any sugar. The right sugar.
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Senior Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Buff Bellied Hummingbird ]105601] recorded by G. A. Keller.
BirdNote's theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2015 Tune In to Nature.org December 2015/2018/2021/2024 Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# nectar-01-2014-12-29 nectar-01
Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Michael Stein
NarratorRelated Field Notes
This blog is the first in a series about the ways that members of the BirdNote comm