Hummingbirds are known for their ability to hover in midair as they drink nectar from flowers. Their long, slender beaks allow them to reach deep inside blossoms to extract the sweet nectar that fuels their high-speed metabolisms and powers their frequent flights. Hummingbirds depend on nectar as their main food source, but not all flowers provide the sustenance these tiny birds require.
What types of flowers attract hummingbirds?
Certain flower characteristics make blossoms more attractive to hummingbirds than others:
- Color – Hummingbirds are drawn to brightly colored red, orange, and pink flowers that are visible from a distance.
- Shape – Long, tubular flowers allow hummingbirds to more easily insert their long beaks and tongues deep inside to reach the nectar.
- Abundant nectar – Flowers that produce large amounts of sugary nectar are preferred by hummingbirds.
- No scent – Hummingbirds do not rely on sense of smell when foraging, so fragrance is not a factor.
Some examples of hummingbird favorites include trumpet vines, cardinal flowers, bee balms, honeysuckles, fuchsias, and native wildflowers like columbine, lupines, and fireweed.
Do all red and tube-shaped flowers attract hummingbirds?
While bright shades of red, orange and pink flowers with tubular shapes attract the most hummingbirds, not all flowers with these characteristics are equally appealing.
Some factors that make a difference include:
- Flower structure – Very narrow, deep tubes prevent access to nectar for some hummingbird species with shorter beaks.
- Nectar quality and quantity – Dilute or limited nectar reduces appeal.
- Location – Flowers clustered together in dense, visible areas are preferred over isolated plants.
- Native plants – Native wildflowers co-evolved with local hummingbirds and cater to their needs.
- Non-native plants – Exotic flowers may have limited nectar rewards or shapes incompatible with local hummingbirds.
Additionally, not all red tubular flowers are adapted for pollination by hummingbirds. Some are pollinated by insects and bats and may exclude hummingbird access to nectar.
Do any white, yellow or blue flowers attract hummingbirds?
Although less common, some white, yellow and blue flowers do attract hummingbirds. Examples include:
- White flowers – Snowberry, rhododendron, mountain ash
- Yellow flowers – Columbine, trumpet vine, honeysuckle, fuchsia
- Blue flowers – Phlox, sage, lupine, lobelia
Even though these lack bright red pigments, they provide plentiful, quality nectar. Shape and structure matter more than color alone in hummingbird appeal.
Do hummingbirds visit flowers at night?
Hummingbirds are diurnal and only feed during daylight hours. At night, they enter a hibernation-like state called torpor to conserve energy. Their high metabolisms and small body size make it challenging for them to survive long nights of fasting.
Some night-blooming flowers depend on pollination by nocturnal animals like bats, moths and bees rather than hummingbirds. These include flowers like evening primrose, night-blooming cereus cactus and Dutchman’s pipevine.
Do hummingbirds feed on any flowers they encounter?
Hummingbirds have preferences when seeking nectar, but they are also opportunistic and adaptive when food is scarce. During migration or inopen, flower-sparse areas, they will visit less favorable blossoms if necessary. However, they mostly prefer flowers tailored to suit their needs.
Some examples of less appealing flowers include:
- Dandelions – Short, open flowers with exposed nectar.
- Daisies – Wide, shallow flowers requiring broad tongues to access nectar.
- Magnolias – Tough, leathery petals with deeply hidden nectar.
- Roses – Double blooms with concealed, sometimes absent, nectaries.
When adept hummingbirds do feed from these flowers, they may puncture petals or employ clinging behaviors to feed.
Do hummingbirds damage flowers when feeding?
In their quest for nectar, hummingbirds rarely harm blossoms. Their slender bills and tongues are perfectly adapted to gather nectar without disturbing delicate flower parts. Strategies hummingbirds use to access nectar include:
- Lapping – Tongues flick quickly in and out of nectar wells without touching adjacent parts.
- Puncturing – Needle-like bills pierce petals to surgically sip nectar.
- Clinging – Small feet clutch flower tubes as bills extend inside corollas.
This delicate feeding preserves the form and function of flowers during repeated hummingbird visits. Any incidental damage is minor and unlikely to deter further hummingbird patronage.
Do hummingbirds cross-pollinate flowers as they feed?
As hummingbirds move between flowers gathering nectar, they facilitate cross-pollination. Features that make this possible include:
- Head and body contact – Brushing against anthers and stigmas transfers pollen.
- Static charge – Buildup of static electricity on feathers helps pollen adhere.
- Sticky pollen – Specialized pollen sticks to hummingbird heads, beaks, chins and throats.
- Frequent movement – Visiting hundreds of flowers daily promotes pollination.
This inadvertent transportation of pollen between compatible blossoms enables fertilization and reproduction in many of the flowers hummingbirds frequent.
Do some flowers discourage hummingbird visits?
Some flowering plants actually discourage hummingbird visits in various ways:
- Dilute nectar – Watery, low-sugar nectar provides inadequate energy.
- Deep, hidden nectaries – Concealed chambers deny access.
- Tight petals – Closed buds prevent entry.
- Sticky pollen – Traps birds or clogs bills restricting feeding.
- Unstable parts – Wobbly structures make feeding difficult.
- Toxic chemicals – Irritants repel visits from some species.
These traits help direct pollination efforts towards more suitable pollinators. Hummingbirds deterred from ineffective food sources save energy and can focus on flowers adapted to their needs.
Do hummingbirds damage or destroy flowers?
There are a few scenarios where hummingbird feeding damages blossoms:
- Nectar robbery – Using holes to steal nectar without pollinating.
- Petal tearing – Climbing into flowers shreds tissues.
- Stamen removal – Breaking these pollen producing parts to access nectar.
- Pistil damage – Chewing female reproductive parts while feeding.
- Flower stripping – Methodically emptying all nectar in a patch.
However, extensive damage is uncommon. Hummingbirds coevolved with many flowers, and long blooming seasons provide adequate nectar to avoid desperate destructive measures.
Do hummingbirds have a good memory for flowers?
Research shows hummingbirds have excellent long-term memory for flowers. They demonstrate several feats of recall:
- Revisiting productive patches – Returning to dependable nectar sources daily.
- Spatial memory – Pinpointing dispersed flower locations precisely.
- Episodic memory – Recalling flower sites and qualities over time.
- Timekeeping – Tracking and anticipating daily and seasonal blooming cycles.
Their innate mental maps and event memories of floral locations, blooming schedules, nectar amounts and refill rates allow hummingbirds to forage flowers productively and efficiently.
How do hummingbirds use sight and smell when seeking flowers?
Hummingbirds rely heavily on vision, but not smell, when locating flowers:
- Color vision – Detecting preferred flower colors from a distance.
- Flower shapes – Identifying tubular and cup-like blossoms.
- Flower arrays – Spotting dense groupings and clusters.
- No sense of smell – Unable to use scent to locate flowers.
Their innate color preferences and ability to recognize rewarding flower forms and distributions allows hummingbirds to quickly pinpoint plentiful nectar sources and ignore scentless flowers.
How do hummingbirds interact with insects at flowers?
Hummingbirds and nectar-feeding insects like bees often compete for the same flowers. Interactions include:
- Indirect competition – Depleting shared nectar resources.
- Direct displacement – Aggressively chasing insects from feeders.
- Resource partitioning – Separating by flower shape preferences and feeding times.
- Pollination facilitation – Cross-pollinating the same blossoms.
Despite conflicts, hummingbirds and insects also peacefully coexist and complement one another’s pollination services for many flowers.
Conclusion
In summary, hummingbirds have evolved specialized relationships with certain flower types that cater to their nectar-feeding needs. Preferred flowers offer abundant, quality nectar in tubular, brightly colored blossoms. However, hummingbirds are adaptable to also exploit other flowers. Their proficient flavor and memory capabilities help them locate and remember productive nectar sources. While feeding, hummingbirds enhance pollination and only incidentally damage some flowers. Their interactions with insects at flowers involves both competition and facilitation. So in essence, many but not all flowers attract hummingbirds, especially those with ample nectar supplies in hues and forms best suited to hummingbird physiology and behavior.
