Hummingbird's temperature can fall to 3.3C at night to preserve energy

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Hummingbirds have scooped another record: they are not only tiny but can reach body temperatures below that of any non-hibernating mammal and any other bird.

The hummingbird is among a number of small creatures, including certain bats, that can enter a state known as daily torpor, a phenomenon where they turn down their metabolism and body temperature to save energy.

Researchers studying six species of the bright birds in the Andes have found the body temperature of the black metaltail hummingbird can fall to as low as 3.3C. They said, this was not only a record for hummingbirds, and indeed all birds, but was lower than the record for non-hibernating mammals. The previous record for birds was 4.3C, reported for the common poorwill, the only species of bird known to hibernate.

Prof Andrew McKechnie, of the University of Pretoria, South Africa, a co-author of the study, said torpor was vital to hummingbirds’ survival, as they would have had to burn large amounts of energy to maintain a high body temperature.

(sparkling violetear, one of six species of hummingbirds whose temperature and weight were also examined by researchers)

(black-breasted hillstar)

Source: The Guardian

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