violet sabrewing, Costa Rica

A male Violet Sabrewing extracts nectar from a heliconia flower in the rainforest of Costa Rica. Amazingly, these flowers can identify and show a preference for the few species of hummingbirds with long, curved bills, such as Sabrewings and Hermits. It is thought that due to their feeding territories being larger, the flowers more readily accept pollination from them, in the interest of more genetic diversity. Thus, these flowers have over time evolved curved corolla,
allowing a few key species to monopolize the valuable food source.

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