14 DAY TRIAL // Having spent some time studying hummingbirds populating forests in Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador, wildlife researchers found that these birds are not as cute and cuddly as most people think them to be.
On the contrary, it appears that male hummingbirds belonging to a species dubbed Phaethornis longirostis sport dagger-like beaks which they use to stab rivals during the mating season.
What's more, wildlife researchers say that these birds, otherwise known as long-billed hermits, more often than not try to jab their beak into their rivals' throat when getting into a fight, IFL science informs.
This means that their dagger-like beaks aren't just meant to scare opponents into surrendering. No, Sir. They are designed to kill, and the hummingbirds aren't shy about using them to inflict serious injuries.
As detailed in a paper in the journal Behavioral Ecology, researchers have long been aware of the fact that male and female long-billed hermits have different beaks. At first, it was assumed that this was because they had quite distinct dietary preferences.
It was after they discovered that males long-billed hermits only switched to having dagger-like beaks following their entering adulthood that researchers figured out that this body part was especially designed for stabbing.
The wildlife researchers behind this investigation into the mating habits of long-billed hermits now wish to study other hummingbird species and try and figure out whether other such birds use their beaks as daggers as well.