No animal can match the metabolism of a hummingbird. They burn food so fast they often need to eat 1.5 to 3 times their weight in nectar and insects per day. They live on the edge of starvation. What happens to a bird if it is too cold or rainy to find food? They go into a sleep-like state called torpor. During torpor their breathing slows, their heart rate drops from 500 to 50 beats per minute, and their body temperature drops to almost 50°F.
Marie Paule Lessard
