Tears have several important functions. In all land animals, they clean and lubricate the eyes. And in some places, they are also a source of nutrition. A German scientist has discovered that a moth on the island of Madagascar drinks the tears of sleeping birds.

The moth (Hemiceratoides hieroglyphica) is about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) long and has a proboscis about half that length. A proboscis is a tubelike structure that moths and butterflies use like a drinking straw to sip nectar and other liquids. The Madagascar moth uses its proboscis to suck tears.

Source: Current Science, a Weekly Reader publication, March 16, 2007