Hummingbirds are a family of birds known for many different unique characteristics. Their frantic lifestyle demands a lot of energy, but it also gives them unique and incredible abilities that allow them to perform tasks otherwise impossible. If you would like to know more about these little, but fascinating creatures, join us in this article in which we will tell you some of their most amazing features.
Their flight is probaly their most unique skill and the humming sound they make when they fly gives them their name. The way in which they fly is very different from any other bird you can think of, as they beat their wings at a much higher frequency, up to 80 times per second (yes, not per minute, but per second!). This unbelievable frecuency allows them to hover which, as I will tell you later in this article, is essential for their feeding method. And you may be thinking that this frantic pace must create a lot of vibrations and turbulences but, fortunately, they have adapted their sight to differetiate movement caused by their flight, from movement generated by other sources (such as a predator apraching them).
To cover the extremely high energetic demand from their flight, their metabolism is as frenetic as their wing beating pace, with numbers that may seem almost impossible. A healthy human heart rate normally stays between 70 and 100 beats per minute, hummingbirds, however, reach heart rates of up to 1,260 beats per minute to be able to distribute enough oxigen to the muscles. Their breathing rate is also very high in order to obtain enough oxigen to feed the muscle cells, and can go up to 250 breaths per minute. This generates very high metabolic rates and, in consequence, a high heat generation. The excess heat is dissipated through exhaled air, and feather-free areas such as the skin around the eyes, feet, etc.
As you probably imagine this far into the article, to feed their extremely fast moving lifestyle, their eating habits are nothing but amazing too. To obtain protein, they feed on insects and spiders, but that represents a really small percentage of their energy needs. To meet their energetic demands, they primarily feed on nectar from flowers. As the space in their tiny stomachs is limited, they have to make sure it is as energy dense as posible. In order to achieve that, they only drink nectar with over 15% content of glucose. With the high energy consumption they have, hummingbirds can starve to death in a few hours, which means they have to eat pretty often. They spend more or less 15% of the time eating.
Hummingbirds live life in an extremely fast way that makes them stand out from most of the other animals in the World. Their little size, their hovering ability and their brutal metabolic rate has intrigued and fascinated many biologists during history and continues to do so today. So if you are ever stressed or feel like your life is moving too fast, just relax and think about these birds.
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To cover the extremely high energetic demand from their flight, their metabolism is as frenetic as their wing beating pace, with numbers that may seem almost impossible. A healthy human heart rate normally stays between 70 and 100 beats per minute, hummingbirds, however, reach heart rates of up to 1,260 beats per minute to be able to distribute enough oxigen to the muscles. Their breathing rate is also very high in order to obtain enough oxigen to feed the muscle cells, and can go up to 250 breaths per minute. This generates very high metabolic rates and, in consequence, a high heat generation. The excess heat is dissipated through exhaled air, and feather-free areas such as the skin around the eyes, feet, etc.
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| Photo by: Becky Matsubara https://flic.kr/p/22yd6aW |
Hummingbirds live life in an extremely fast way that makes them stand out from most of the other animals in the World. Their little size, their hovering ability and their brutal metabolic rate has intrigued and fascinated many biologists during history and continues to do so today. So if you are ever stressed or feel like your life is moving too fast, just relax and think about these birds.
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