Ruby-throated Hummingbird, male
Salvia, "Lady in Red"It's not that hummers won't go to flower of other colors, they certainly do. It's just that these red tubular flowers are specially adapted to be more exclusively just right for hummers. They are oriented horizontally and have a long floral tube with the nectar deep inside at the base of the tube. Thus a hovering hummer, with it's long bill and long tongue, (not a bee with short mouthparts) can extract the delicious flower nectar. In turn, the hummingbird gets dusted on the forehead with the pollen from that flower, transports the pollen to the next flower, and is the pollenation accomplice in the continued survival of that species of plant. Win, win.
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