Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Science
Related: About this forumHow hummingbirds evolved to detect sweetness
How hummingbirds evolved to detect sweetness
Date: August 21, 2014
Source: Harvard Medical School
Summary:
Hummingbirds' ability to detect sweetness evolved from an ancestral savory taste receptor that is mostly tuned to flavors in amino acids. Feasting on nectar and the occasional insect, the tiny birds expanded throughout North and South America, numbering more than 300 species over the 40 to 72 million years since they branched off from their closest relative, the swift.
Everything about hummingbirds is rapid. An iridescent blur to the human eye, their movements can be captured with clarity only by high-speed video.
Slowed down on replay, their wings thrum like helicopter blades as they hover near food. Their hearts beat 20 times a second and their tongues dart 17 times a second to slurp from a feeding station.
It takes only three licks of their forked, tube-like tongues to reject water when they expect nectar. They pull their beaks back, shake their heads and spit out the tasteless liquid. They also are not fooled by the sugar substitute that sweetens most diet cola.
These hummingbirds look mad.
The birds' preference for sweetness is plain, but only now can scientists explain the complex biology behind their taste for sugar. Their discovery required an international team of scientists, fieldwork in the California mountains and at Harvard University's Concord Field Station, plus collaborations from Harvard labs on both sides of the Charles River.
More:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140821141449.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28Latest+Science+News+--+ScienceDaily%29
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
4 replies, 778 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (7)
ReplyReply to this post
4 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
How hummingbirds evolved to detect sweetness (Original Post)
Judi Lynn
Aug 2014
OP
Demit
(11,238 posts)1. Funny, how they'll spit out water if it has no sugar in it.
This is my first year having hummers to watch & I've loved it. Feisty buggers! They sure let me know when the feeders need filling. I learned that Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec God of War, is portrayed as a hummingbird. I'll be sorry when they migrate, they've given me a lot of pleasure.
shenmue
(38,506 posts)2. Nom nom nom
Glurp glurp glurp.
BlueJazz
(25,348 posts)3. Besides the cool stuff, they're just adorable.
Lionel Mandrake
(4,076 posts)4. It makes sense that hummingbirds would evolve this way,
since they need lots of energy to do so much flying.
I wonder if any other birds have evolved a sense of sweetness.