Crane Flower/Bird of Paradise

Description:

This plant resembles a bird, hence its two most common names. Comparing it to a bird, the neck would be green, the head and beak purple or red, with an orange crest with one blue piece at the front. The black specks on the plant are ants that are sipping the nectar. In their native Africa, bird of paradise flowers are pollinated by sun birds. In California, they are pollinated by the various species of hummingbirds on migration to and from Mexico.