Hobbies And Interests
Flight Patterns
If you've never seen a hummingbird before, the way one flies might take you by surprise. Unlike any other bird, hummingbirds can hover in place, primarily to feed. Their wings are flexible at the shoulder, which enables them to hold their bodies upright and flap their wings in a figure-eight motion to hover in one spot. They can also fly right, left, up, down and backward. Most hummingbirds flap their wings so rapidly -- 50 times per second -- that all you see is a blur.
Territorial Defense
A flock of birds flying in formation or migrating together is a common sight -- but not for a hummingbird. These tiny dynamos are loners and become very territorial when they happen to meet at the same backyard feeder. They may even look like they're wrestling each other in midair. Two hummingbirds that are about to fight over territory try to appear bigger to each other while flying. They expand their feathers, while extending their wings and tails. They use their bodies to slam into each other in midair, then lock beaks while spinning in circles -- sometimes hitting the ground. Hummingbirds settle their disagreements this way and typically don't injure each other.
Eating Habits
Hummingbirds feed about every 10 minutes -- all day -- because their metabolic rate is extremely high. They burn eight times more calories flying than they do while resting. Hummingbirds fly instead of walk over distances of mere inches; they use their tiny feet only for perching. To support their constant, calorie-consuming wing-flapping, hummingbirds must eat 3 to 7 calories a day -- which is a lot of flower nectar and tiny insects. Seven calories may not sound like much, but relative to their body size, it would be like a person consuming more than 8,000 calories a day.
Sleep State
Even sleeping hummingbirds require sufficient calories to sustain their high metabolism. Since they can't look for food when it's dark, hummingbirds conserve energy by lowering their body's internal thermostat and going into a hypothermic state called torpor. Their breathing rate slows, allowing them to save 60 percent of their energy. Hummingbirds lack insulating down feathers, so this state also helps them to survive a cold night. Sometimes they hang upside down when in torpor, often making them appear to be dead.