The Surprising Secret of Hummingbird Tongues
About this episode
This episode explores the unique mechanics of hummingbird tongues and the historical misconceptions about their function.
Hummingbirds use their long tongues to sip nectar from flowers. They’re able to roll their tongues into a tube-like shape. Since the 1800s, scientists thought those tongues worked through capillary action, like how water instantly rises into a straw in a full cup. But when scientists spent years
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