At a first glance, the hummingbird hawk-moth looks extremely bird-like. Although Europe does not have any wild hummingbird species, every year the seasonal appearance of hummingbird hawk-moths leads to false reports of hummingbird sightings.
The hummingbird hawk-moth hovers like a hummingbird and also produces an audible hum. It also shares the darting movement from flower to flower with the hummingbirds. It also has a long proboscis, ‘feathers’ and a ‘tail’. It even holds its legs against its body to make it appear as if it only has two. Even its eyes lock bird-like.
The bird-like appearance of the hummingbird hawk-moth is an excellent example of convergent evolution, in which unrelated species independently develop the same design or biological traits and, thereby, fill the same niche.