PMID: 11607331Oct 15, 1992Paper

Foraging ability of rufous hummingbirds on hummingbird flowers and hawkmoth flowers

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
V Grant, E J Temeles

Abstract

We examine the suitability of ornithophilous flowers and sphingophilous flowers in Ipompsis and Aquilegia for nectar foraging by the hummingbird Selasphorus rufus. In S. rufus, bill length averages 18.9 mm in females and 17.3 mm in males. Maximal tongue extension approximates bill length, suggesting that birds can feed from floral tubes up to 33.5 mm in length. However, their ability to do so is limited by two factors. First, the maximal depth at which S. rufus can extract nectar decreases with the width of the floral tube. Second, feeding time is shortest in short floral tubes and progressively increases as the tubes lengthen because of increased time required for tongue extension and retraction. Hence, nectar foraging occurs with optimal efficiency in moderately broad floral tubes with lengths that do not exceed or only slightly exceed the bill length plus </=5-mm tongue extension. In most ornithophilous taxa of Ipomopsis and Aquilegia, the floral tubes have lengths and widths in the optimal range for nectar foraging by S. rufus, whereas in the sphingophilous taxa, the basal nectar either may be reached but at much higher cost or, more frequently, is beyond reach of bills and tongues. The flower-visiting habits of S. rufus an...Continue Reading

References

Sep 1, 1973·Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. A, Comparative Physiology·F R Hainsworth
Jul 1, 1970·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·V Grant, K A Grant

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Citations

May 8, 2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Cally J HarperElizabeth L Brainerd
Dec 15, 1992·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·V Grant
Aug 15, 1993·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·V Grant
Jan 4, 1994·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·V Grant
Jun 3, 2011·Journal of the Royal Society, Interface·Alex JamesAndrew M Edwards
Jan 5, 2002·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·C Galen, J Cuba
Apr 25, 2000·International Journal of Plant Sciences·R S LangeP E Scott
Oct 18, 2015·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Jeferson Vizentin-BugoniMarlies Sazima
Sep 26, 2015·Science·Nicole E Miller-StruttmannCandace Galen
Aug 24, 2007·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·J F OrnelasT Garland
Jan 23, 2008·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·Stacey DeWitt SmithDavid A Baum
Oct 29, 2013·Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution·Ana Lúcia Anversa SegattoLoreta Brandão Freitas
Jul 24, 2004·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·M C CastellanosJ D Thomson
Sep 19, 2000·American Journal of Botany·S R GriffinC G Eckert
Aug 1, 2005·American Journal of Botany·Rainee L KaczorowskiTimothy P Holtsford
Dec 1, 2006·American Journal of Botany·Charles B FensterRichard J Reynolds
Jun 8, 2007·Nature·Justen B Whittall, Scott A Hodges
Dec 1, 1998·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·Diane R CampbellPaul G Wolf
Mar 1, 1996·Oecologia·Ethan J Temeles
Oct 1, 1998·Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution·Elvia Meléndez-Ackerman, Diane R Campbell
Jan 2, 2019·Integrative Organismal Biology·A Rico-GuevaraR Dudley
May 30, 2021·Integrative and Comparative Biology·Alejandro Rico-GuevaraAvery L Russell

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