We were hiking at Stillwater Prairie Reserve yesterday and saw this female Ruby-throated Hummingbird. I love this little bird. They can hover, and fly backwards. They are amazing to watch. They migrate north as the flowers bloom, allowing them to have food for that super metabolism to be fueled. Check this out:
Hummingbirds have one of the highest metabolic rates of any animal, with heart rates up to 1260 beats per minute, breathing rate of about 250 breaths per minute even at rest, and oxygen consumption of about 4 ml oxygen/g/hour at rest. During flight, hummingbird oxygen consumption per gram of muscle tissue is approximately 10 times higher than that seen for elite human athletes. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird)
~ Rick
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