Abstract:A complete understanding of the feeding structures is fundamental in order to study how animals survive. Some birds use long and protrusible tongues as the main tool to collect their central caloric source (e.g. woodpeckers and nectarivores). Hummingbirds are the oldest and most diverse clade of nectarivorous vertebrates, being a perfect subject to study tongue specializations. Their tongue functions to intraorally transport arthropods through their long bills and enables them to exploit the nectarivorous nich… Show more
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