How the World's Smallest Birds Survive the Winter

[rangerrebew]

How the World's Smallest Birds Survive the Winter
"Little Arnold Schwarzeneggers," hummingbirds are tough—so tough they've evolved a clever way of coping with the cold.
Picture of an Anna's Hummingbird in California
View Images

An Anna's hummingbird weathers the elements in Morro Bay State Park, California.
Photograph by Don Johnston, Alamy
By Liz Langley

PUBLISHED January 7, 2017

As the smallest birds on Earth, hummingbirds may seem frail—so it's not surprising Donovan Nixon asked Weird Animal Question of the Week how they cope with winter.

Turns out these airborne jewels are as tough as diamonds.

In cold weather, hummingbird bodies enter into an "energy-conservation mode called torpor," according to Oregon State ecologist Adam Hadley. Birds that stay north for the winter experience a nightly "mini-hibernation," in which their 107-degree body temperatures can plummet to 48 degrees.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/hummingbirds-winter-cold-weather/

[truth_seeker]

Morro Bay is not really that "cold."

There is a nice State Park at Morro Bay, which includes a wetland, and it most likely is a stopover location for migratory bird species.

So perhaps this species used to migrate, but one year said "let's just try staying here. It isn't that cold."

[thackney]

When I was in Alaska, I was amazed at the activity of the little wrens, when temperatures were -20°F and below.

[Sanguine]

Nice article, thanks @rangerrebew.