Hemiceratoides hieroglyphica is a moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 from Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

. It was discovered in 2006 that it frequents sleeping birds at night, and drinks their tears, using a specialized, harpoon

Harpoon

A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...

-like proboscis

Proboscis

A proboscis is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate. In simpler terms, a proboscis is the straw-like mouth found in several varieties of species.-Etymology:...

. Tear-feeding moths outside of Madagascar (for example Mecistoptera griseifusa in the Hypeninae

Hypeninae

Hypeninae is a subfamily of moth family Noctuidae. A notable species is Mecistoptera griseifusa which lives solely on tears it drinks with its...

subfamily) are not directly related to this species, and have evolved dissimilar mechanisms for drinking, and they do not drink from birds, but from large animals like deer or crocodiles.