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Ornithophily. Ornithophily or bird pollination is the pollination of flowering plants by birds. This sometimes (but not always) coevolutionary association is derived from insect pollination (entomophily) and is particularly well developed in some parts of the world, especially in the tropics, Southern Africa, and on some island chains. [1]
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. [ 1 ] Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example beetles or butterflies; birds, and bats; water; wind; and even plants themselves.
Plants fall into pollination syndromes that reflect the type of pollinator being attracted. These are characteristics such as: overall flower size, the depth and width of the corolla, the color (including patterns called nectar guides that are visible only in ultraviolet light), the scent, amount of nectar, composition of nectar, etc. [2] For example, birds visit red flowers with long, narrow ...
Many plants pollinated by hummingbirds produce flowers in shades of red, orange, and bright pink, although the birds take nectar from flowers of other colors. Hummingbirds can see wavelengths into the near- ultraviolet , but hummingbird-pollinated flowers do not reflect these wavelengths as many insect-pollinated flowers do.
Sunbird drinking nectar from typical bird-pollinated flower As nectar is a primary food source for sunbirds, they are important pollinators in African ecosystems. Sunbird-pollinated flowers are typically long, tubular, and red-to-orange in colour, showing convergent evolution with many hummingbird -pollinated flowers in the Americas. [ 10 ]
Binomial name. Nectarinia famosa. (Linnaeus, 1766) Synonyms. Certhia famosa Linnaeus, 1766. The malachite sunbird (Nectarinia famosa) is a small nectarivorous bird found from the highlands of Ethiopia southwards to South Africa. They pollinate many flowering plants, particularly those with long corolla tubes, in the Fynbos.
These birds feed on nectar from flowers using a long extendable tongue, drink sap from holes created by sapsuckers or catch insects on the wing. While collecting nectar, they also assist in plant pollination. [3] Plants preferred for pollinating include paintbrush, penstemon, columbine, trumpet gilia, and elephant head.
Adaptations of orchids to pollination by animals. 97% of species of orchids need a pollinator for the transfer of pollen grains from one plant to the pistils of another individual to take place, and thus for fertilization and seeds formation to occur. [3] The pollen of orchids is grouped in compact masses called pollinia (singular: "pollinium ...