Now, it’s pretty clear - a bird does not live by nectar alone. At one time, it seemed like bill shape was all about matching the flower. It doesn’t matter how well you drink, if you don’t let anyone else near the nectar.

But then again, a weaponized bill allowed the males to control access to the flowers.

The hooked bill and the serrations both interfered with the tongue. These weaponized bills were much less efficient at feeding. And in some cases, they had jagged points like rows of teeth. These were thicker, more rigid, often hooked at the end. But in these birds, the males had beaks that had been radically reshaped. And, of course, the pinch and pluck, where the birds use their strong bills to bite and rip out feathers. There’s the stab, where the bird charges its rival like a jousting knight, or the feint and parry, where the birds fight it out, beak-to-beak, until one tosses the other aside. The hummingbirds had some pretty good moves. They recorded interactions that looked like dueling fencers. To study these birds, researchers set up high-speed cameras in the rainforest. It seemed clear that, evolutionarily, plants. Scientists working in Colombia have found that, for some of these birds, evolution has actually turned their beaks into swords. The seemingly perfect match of nectar-bearing flowers to slender nectar-sipping beaks clearly showed that hummingbirds were shaped by co-evolution. Warriors were known to wear their feathers into battle. But as anyone with a popular hummingbird feeder knows, these birds are also furious fighters. Just look how the long, slender bill matches the shape of the flower. Calendulas blossom all season long from spring through fall. Bees love the easy landing petals and rich pollen and nectar sources. We included calendulas in the top 10 flowers for bees because they’re a staple. Transcript How the Hummingbird Bill Evolved for Battle In the South American tropics, where hummingbirds must compete for food, evolution has drastically reshaped their bills. Calendula does it all: Attracts pollinators, repels pests, and withstands poor conditions.

Nectar flower sip