Just yesterday, with the help of some mesmerising slow-motion simulations of a hummingbird's unique flight, we learned that these dainty little creatures actually move more like insects than birds. Now, thanks to Smarter Every Day, we've got even more incredible footage of hummingbirds in flight, as Destin tests out just how far they'll go to get a feed.
In his latest video above, Destin explains that a lady in his home town of Alabama called him up to say that she'd set up a bunch of hummingbird feeders in her backyard so she could take stunning photographs of them whenever she likes. But the result of that is that she'd unwittingly put the nectar supply and demand curves out of whack. It's good because she's boosting the local population, but they've now come to depend on her for their nectar.
So what happens when you reduce the supply by, I don't know, removing all but one of the nectar feeders and holding it in place with your mouth? Two words - hummingbird moustaches.
Here's what Destin had to say about the experience:
"We manipulated the food supply to create a fun little experiment. It took the birds a few minutes to work up the courage, but eventually one of them got hungry enough to try it. When I didn't eat him, others followed suit. Never have I wanted goggles so badly. I cannot explain how nervous it made me to stare down the sharp beak of a hummingbird… knowing he could poke my eye out before you could blink."
Check out the footage above, it's equal parts beautiful and entirely ridiculous. I'll let you guess which one the hummingbird was, and which one Destin was.
Source: Smarter Every Day