Sword-Billed Hummingbird

The sword-billed hummingbird is a curious example of symbiotic species co-evolving in tandem. Its beak is the longest of any bird relative to its body, to aid in reaching the nectar deep within flowers with long corollas. But why would a flower evolve to make it harder for pollinators to reach its nectar? For the plant, developing flowers of a unique shape or extended length will limit the number of potential pollinator species, and this increases the odds that its pollen is spread within their same species, and not lost within other types of flowers. And for the pollinators, this specialization helps reduce competition for the delicious nectar that only they can best reach. The flower pictured here, Brugmansia sanguinea, or the red angel's trumpet, is from the datura family, and was traditionally used as an entheogen by local shamans.