Ecotasia's video: Incredible Hummingbird Metabolism Facts

Hummingbirds are marvelous creatures. Beautiful, almost magical, their iridescent colors shift with just the turn of their head. Masters of the air, they are champions of hovering; they can also fly backwards or in the case of the black-chinned hummingbird’s courtship, side to side. To have this level of control, they beat their wings on average 80 times per second. To get oxygen to their muscles, their hearts can beat up to 1,260 times per minute and they can take around 250 breaths in the same amount of time. In order to accomplish this hummingbirds are supercharged. No other vertebrates have metabolisms as fast. In this video I explore the metabolism of hummingbirds, discussing some of the most interesting features and challeges this gorup of birds have evolved to do this, such as the sugar oxidation cascade and torpor. Hummingbirds are just amazing. Though seemingly delicate and fragile, they are some of the toughest birds out there, dealing with the near constant threat of starvation, and thriving. Sources Gill V (30 July 2014). "Hummingbirds edge out helicopters in hover contest". BBC News. Retrieved 1 Sep 2014. Lasiewski, Robert C. (1964). "Body temperatures, heart and breathing rate, and evaporative water loss in hummingbirds". Physiological Zoology. 37 (2): 212–223. doi:10.1086/physzool.37.2.30152332. Welch Jr, K. C.; Chen, C. C. (2014). "Sugar flux through the flight muscles of hovering vertebrate nectarivores: A review". Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 184 (8): 945–59. doi:10.1007/s00360-014-0843-y. PMID 25031038. Suarez, Raul; Welch, Kenneth (12 July 2017). "Sugar metabolism in hummingbirds and nectar bats". Nutrients. 9 (7): 743. doi:10.3390/nu9070743. ISSN 2072-6643. PMC 5537857. PMID 28704953. Hiebert, S. M. (1992). "Time-dependent thresholds for torpor initiation in the rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)". Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 162 (3): 249–55. doi:10.1007/bf00357531. PMID 1613163. Unwin, Mike (2011). The Atlas of Birds: Diversity, Behavior, and Conservation. Princeton University Press. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-4008-3825-7. Nicolson, S. W. & Fleming, P. A. (2003). "Nectar as food for birds: the physiological consequences of drinking dilute sugar solutions". Plant Syst. Evol. 238 (1–4): 139–53. doi:10.1007/s00606-003-0276-7. Music Modern Jazz Samba Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Artist: http://incompetech.com/ If you like animals and nature Please Subscribe and Like This is Backyard Expeditions. Here you can find wildlife footage and short documentaries on the natural world. Nature is full of surprises, often amazing things are happening just feet from you door. I am a biology student who was inspired by the likes of the BBC natural history unit, PBS, and animal planet as a Child. I have also long been a hobbyist photographer, filming interesting things over time. My goal is to document interesting behavior and highlight interesting species I encounter both in exotic locations, and on backyard expeditions. Underwater Worlds https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYx5OP7sbAZAJNusnxcNoHUx_sNDYT92k Journey through the Undergrowth (Macro footage of insects and Arachnids) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYx5OP7sbAZC-4h2hpK09I-FF563TQzlc Bird Playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZqNM9k7OoY&list=PLYx5OP7sbAZACa11LD1wDQhn0SI2-SV1f Birding Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYx5OP7sbAZAYjq78IuGJI4wc0GXDRHTd Conservation Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYx5OP7sbAZAIUm5UCl84q2KU2nI3YLpx also Check Out my Photography Adventure Blog https://johnjacksonphoto.blogspot.com/