[TN-Bird] How do hummingbirds capture flying insects?
- From: "Charles P. Nicholson" <cpnichol@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "TN-Bird Listserve" <tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 8 Apr 2004 20:47:48 -0400
Given the intense interest in a hummingbirds on this listserve, I think a
recently published article in the international science journal Nature will
be of interest.
Turns out that unlike most birds, hummingbirds bend their lower jaw. In
most other birds, the lower jaw is rigid but the upper jaw flexes.
Following is the citation and abstract for the article. You have to be a
subscriber to see the full text online.
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v428/n6983/f
ull/428615a_fs.html
Chuck Nicholson
Norris, TN
Nature 428, 615 (08 April 2004); doi:10.1038/428615a
<>
Feeding mechanisms: Hummingbird jaw bends to aid insect capture
GREGOR M. YANEGA AND MARGARET A. RUBEGA
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut,
Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA
gregor.yanega@xxxxxxxxx
The upper jaws of birds, unlike those in many tetrapods, move relative to
the skull and are often flexible along their length, whereas the lower jaw
(mandible) is usually a rigid structure formed by the fusion of several
bones, flexing only where it meets the skull. Here we describe a previously
unnoticed mandibular bending movement in hummingbirds, in which the distal
half of the mandible is actively flexed downwards and the gape widens to
catch flying insects. The hummingbird is thought to have developed a long
narrow bill as it specialized in feeding on floral nectar, but the bird's
need to supplement its diet with insects must have contributed to the
surprising flexibility of its jaw.
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