The American Naturalist, rb.gy/sx1se). Why would that be? Partly because a long beak can get in the way while perching, in ways it would not while hovering.
But also because from their perch, these birds don’t need to insert their beaks all the way to the bottom of the flower to get at its nectar. Instead, they can poke through the base, and directly slurp up the sweet stuff they find there.
Evolution: full of enduring mystery. I’ll leave you wondering why cheetahs have evolved those black lines running down from their eyes.
Once a computer scientist, Dilip D’Souza now lives in Mumbai and writes for his dinners. His Twitter handle is @DeathEndsFun.
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