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| Little Spiderhunter Arachnothera longirostra longirostra
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| Photographer : | © Bishan Monnappa |
| Location : | Coorg, Karnataka, India |
| Date : |
14 August 2012 |
| English synonyms: | Pale Spiderhunter (dilutior), Orange-tufted Spiderhunter (flammifera) |
| Bird Family : | Nectariniini - Sunbirds & Spiderhunters |
| Bird Group : | PASSERIFORMES |
| Red Data Status : | Least Concern |
| Remarks : | The tongue of the sunbird rolls inwards at the edges to meet at the top to form a closed tube... The tip usually splits and can be bitubular or like brush tips. It can behave like a straw to suck the nectar. However, sucking nectar would be difficult since the grooves on the tongues are open at the top. But in Nature's design almost everything is energy efficient. Sucking the nectar involves some energy consumption. But here, when the bird takes its bill into the corolla tube of the flower and extends its tongue, the grooves along the tongue provide for capillary action automatically through which it can obtain the nectar without spending more energy. The proximal part of the tongue, which is the other open end of the so formed tube, can be pushed against the top of the upper mandible of the bill, then pulled in and out, creating a pressure difference which allows the nectar to be sucked into the mouth. Have interpreted what I understood from the net. Experts on this could please elaborate, refine or contradict on this. - BM |
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