1 of 7 Despite its appearance, the hummingbird’s tongue doesn't suck up nectar like a drinking straw.

2 of 7 The two tubes look like rolled-up sheets of cellophane, and capture nectar more like a bucket than a straw.

3 of 7 Exiting the bill, the tubes begin to open to let nectar in.

4 of 7 Heading back to the bill, the tubes rotate and close to encapsulate the nectar.

5 of 7 Entering the bill, the tubes are full. As the tongue leaves the bill again, the hummingbird squeezes it with its bill, compressing the tubes and releasing nectar into its mouth.

6 of 7 One cycle takes just five hundredths of a second.

7 of 7 Like this, they will drink up to ten thousand calories of nectar from one thousand flowers every day.