Scientists from Harvard’s Hopkins Lab analyzed 1.6 million community-sourced observations from iNaturalist to study the relationship between hummingbird migration and flower color in Eastern North America. Using AI to classify flower colors in photos, they discovered that red and orange blooms — favored by hummingbirds — do not appear in significant numbers until just after ruby-throated hummingbirds arrive each spring. This seasonal lag suggests a co-evolutionary pattern, where flowering timing aligns with pollinator presence. The study, published in Current Biology, is the first to document this color-driven phenological pattern at such a large scale. While bumblebees and other pollinators emerge earlier, the red-orange bloom surge coincides precisely with hummingbird migration, highlighting a specialized ecological relationship.