Katie Couric slid into Spencer Pratt's DMs: 'Can I come over to see your hummingbirds?'

As the 64-year-old tells it, her daughter, Ellie, first brought The Hills  and its central cast members Pratt and his wife, Heidi Montag Pratt, to her attention:  "She said they love hummingbirds, so I DMed him on Instagram, and I said, 'Hi, Spencer Pratt. Can I come over to see your hummingbirds?' And he said, 'Sure, Katie Couric. Come on over!' So I went to their house, and they have millions of hummingbirds on their terrace. He makes the nectar every day with sugar and water. It was insane."

Couric posted real-time evidence to Instagram of her visit back in mid-February: 

Pratt has been very public about his affinity for hummingbirds since at least 2017:

After Couric recounted the story—"one of the coolest things I had ever done"—DeGeneres shared why hummingbirds are particularly special to her: "I was in a very dark period of my life, and I rescued one that seemed almost dead. It was in water, in a fountain, and I thought it was dead. It was just floating, and I pulled it out. It took a while, [but] it came back to life, sat on my finger and just flew straight up. It kind of got me out of where I was."

Couric has been serving as the guest host of Jeopardy! as the iconic series tries to find its footing following the November death of Alex Trebek. Couric's two-week stint at the helm will end with Friday's episode.