BIRDS CATCH FLIES WITH BENDY BEAKS

Hummingbirds have bendy lower beaks to help them catch insects, research reveals. The flexibility allows long-beaked birds to open their mouths wide enough to hunt on the wing.

Hummingbirds use their long, narrow beaks to probe flowers for nectar, but they also need insects for essential nutrients. It wasn't clear how they could catch them; birds that hunt flying insects usually have short beaks to help them open their mouths wide.

So Gregor Yanega and Margaret Rubega from the University of Connecticut in Storrs filmed 70 captive hummingbirds of three species, including the ruby-throated hummingbird Archilochus colubris, at 500 frames per second as the birds caught fruit flies.

One gulp of an insect lasts about a second, the duo found. Slow-mo showed that each bird bent its lower jaw downwards as it neared its prey. The beak’s bend varied between birds and between snacks, the researchers report in Nature¹.

This type of jaw movement has never been spotted before, says Yanega.

The upper bill also flexes, says Yanega. This has been noted in hummingbirds and other birds. The base of the upper bill flexes relative to the skull, and bends upwards along its length. Such movement is thought to help the bird catch insects, and to move prey to the back of the mouth.

References

1. Yanega, G. M. & Rubega, M. A. Nature, 428, 615, (2004).

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