Biologist John Avise provides our weekly ducks on Sunday, but he’s also in the past sent a lot of other photos, which I’ll put up at intervals. Today’s set features—wait for it—bird tongues. John’s notes and IDs are indented.
Avian tongues:
Birds seldom stick out their tongues, so it’s rare to get photos of this important anatomical feature. But every once in a while I’ve gotten lucky in that regard. So, here are several photos of avian tongues, some of which show surprising anatomical details.
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Note the fierce backward-projecting prongs that help to impale mice and keep them from squirming out of the oral cavity during the swallowing process:
Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna). Hummingbirds don’t suck nectar as through a straw. Rather, they lap nectar from flowers by rapid tongue thrusts out and in. Note the length of this bird’s tongue and how it closely matches the length and curvature of the bill itself:
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), saying “nyah, nyah”:
Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalia):
Limpkin (Aramus guarauna). A very thin and sharply pointed tongue must help this bird to extract snails (a favorite food) from their shells:
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis). Again, backward-projecting prongs help keep food in:
Fascinating! Great photos!
Fascinating! Amazing photos!
Thanks, really interesting information about the tongues of predatory birds!
Really cool.
Just… Wow!
What a theme! That goose tongue is my favorite. Imagine if it were hanging out of the side.
Wow, John, those are excellent! And they bring humor as well. Thanks!
“Hummingbirds don’t suck nectar as through a straw.” Not long ago there was a post that described feeding details. Hummers have a double tubular tongue which uses capillary action to help get nectar.
https://www.pnas.org/content/108/23/9356
Thanks – great photos.
Those backward-facing prongs are scary. I wonder if those giant prehistoric birds had them so as to prevent early hominids from depriving them of a meal?
I never knew about avian tongues. Very interesting.
Jaw-dropping photos! Made my morning.
I must admit I’ve never given thought to bird tongues. Nature is endlessly fascinating. Thanks for the great photos.
Thank you for the great photos and information!
Never knew about tongue prongs. You learn something new every day on this site. Thanks for the great photos.
Marvelous!
Great photos and informative narrative. Thanks!
Makes me wonder whether carnivorous dinosaurs had backward-pointing tongue prongs.
And on the other hand, why don’t non-avian predators (alligators, wolves) have them?