Characteristics of Ornithophilous flowers : 4/27/2009 Characteristics of Ornithophilous flowers Birds like humming birds and honey thrushes (smallest birds) feed on the nectar of flowers like Large flowers like Strelitzia (bird of paradise) are visited by birds.
The flowers that are visited by birds and hummingbirds are typically:
Tubular and have petals that are recurved to be out of the way
Have tubes, funnels, cups
Strong supports for perching
Characteristics of Ornithophilous flowers : 4/27/2009 Characteristics of Ornithophilous flowers Brightly colored: red, yellow, or orange
Odorless (birds have a poor sense of smell)
Open during the day
Prolific nectar producers with nectar deeply hidden
Modest pollen producers that are designed to dust the bird’s head/back with pollen as the bird forages for nectar
Pollen vectoring can also be accomplished by animals : 4/27/2009 Pollen vectoring can also be accomplished by animals This bird harvests nectar from a flower as a reward for its services in carrying pollen on its face feathers from one flower to the next. Seed dispersal is similarly vectored in plants!
Pollination of Strelitzia : 4/27/2009 Pollination of Strelitzia
Ornithophily : 4/27/2009 Ornithophily Male southern double-collared sunbird, Cinnyris chalybeus, pollinating Brunsvigia orientalis and showing pollen on its forehead, Near Klawer, Western Cape, South Africa
Pollination by humming bird, Nectarina : 4/27/2009 Pollination by humming bird, Nectarina