White-tipped Sicklebill
A White-tipped Sicklebill (Eutoxeres aquila) with RTPI Affiliate Sean Graesser demonstrating their co-evolution with their primary feeding flower Centropogon granulosa. The hummingbirds get to enjoy the nectar of the flower while serving its purpose as a pollinator for these plants. Nature is staggeringly awesome!
Read MoreWhite-tipped Sicklebill (Eutoxeres aquila) by Twan Leenders
Here’s that White-tipped Sicklebill (Eutoxeres aquila) showing off why, as a hummingbird, it evolved in that way as it feeds on the nectar of Centropogon granulosa. There is no real common name to the plant but it is sometimes referred to as ‘parrot beak flower’. We often see White-tipped Sicklebills with a yellow patch on the top of their head. You can see how they would get that – every time they visit one of these Centropogon flowers they get “stamped” on the head with pollen. White-tipped Sicklebills must be important pollinators for these plants!
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