How does a hummingbird's tongue actually work?

A hummingbird's tongue is forked and grooved. The beak compresses it flat as it extends, and when the tip touches nectar the grooves spring open — pulling nectar in by elastic expansion like a tiny self-resetting pump. This loads nectar roughly ten times faster than passive capillary action could.

Does a hummingbird drink by capillary action?

No. Scientists believed this for nearly 200 years, but high-speed imaging published in 2011 and refined since shows the tongue does not rely on capillary wicking. Nectar is loaded as the flattened grooves elastically re-expand on contact with nectar — a mechanism now called an elastic micropump.

Why is a hummingbird's tongue longer than its bill?

The tongue is anchored to an elongated hyoid apparatus that loops around the back of the skull. This lets the tongue extend roughly the length of the bill beyond the beak tip — deep into tubular flowers — while keeping the bill itself short, light, and aerodynamic for fast, agile flight.

How fast can a hummingbird lick?

Hummingbirds sustain lick rates of 15 to 20 cycles per second while feeding at a flower or feeder. Each cycle involves protruding the tongue, contacting nectar, loading the grooves by elastic expansion, retracting, and squeezing the nectar off into the bill — all in about 50 milliseconds.

Does the hummingbird tongue really wrap around its brain?

Functionally, yes. The hyoid bones that anchor the tongue wrap around the back of the skull and loop up over the cranium. When the tongue retracts, this entire apparatus slides backward and the tongue essentially stores itself around the back of the head — passing very close to the braincase.

Does feeder nectar concentration affect how well the tongue works?

Yes. The elastic micropump is tuned to the viscosity of natural hummingbird-pollinated flower nectar — roughly 20% sucrose, which matches the standard 4:1 water-to-sugar feeder recipe. Overly concentrated syrups load more slowly and less efficiently, and contaminated or fermented nectar can damage the delicate fringed tongue tips.

How a Hummingbird's Tongue Really Works (Elastic Micropump) | NectarBloom™