Copyright nytimes
Lost Science is an ongoing series of accounts from scientists who have lost their jobs or funding after cuts by the Trump administration. The conversations have been edited for clarity and length. Here’s why we’re doing this. Jay Falk: The project that was terminated was on this hummingbird, the white-necked jacobin. The males in this species have a deep blue iridescent head, a bright white belly and a white tail, which they’re constantly spreading and showing off to each other. And the females look very different. They have a mottled gray throat and belly, and then their tail is very dark, almost black. But 20 percent of the females look nearly identical to the males. Why, if you’re a female, would you want to look like a male? It’s all about access to getting food. They get nectar from flowers. These females that look like males are essentially mimicking the males because they get away with avoiding the aggression from other hummingbirds. They’re pretty vicious.
