“Hummingbirds are birds from the Americas that constitute the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring 7.5–13 cm (3–5 in) in length. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5 cm (2.0 in) bee hummingbird weighing less than 2.5 g (0.09 oz).
They are known as hummingbirds because of the humming sound created by their beating wings which flap at high frequencies audible to humans. They hover in mid-air at rapid wing-flapping rates, typically around 50 times per second, allowing them also to fly at speeds exceeding 15 m/s (54 km/h; 34 mph).
Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of any homeothermic animal. To conserve energy when food is scarce, and nightly when not foraging, they go into torpor, a state similar to hibernation, slowing metabolic rate to 1/15th of its normal rate.
…338 known species… (groups) the Topazes, Hermits, Mangoes, Brilliants, Coquettes, Patagona, Mountain Gems, Bees, and Emeralds, defining their relationship to nectar-bearing flowering plants and the birds' continued spread into new geographic areas…
Hummingbirds exhibit sexual size dimorphism (different sizes between sexes)…Hummingbirds' wing bones are hollow and fragile...(regarding eyesight) an exceptionally dense array of retinal neurons allowing for increased spatial resolution in the lateral and frontal visual fields. Morphological studies showed that neuronal hypertrophy, relatively the largest in any bird, exists in a brain region called the pretectal nucleus lentiformis mesencephali (or nucleus of the optic tract in mammals) responsible for refining dynamic visual processing while hovering and during rapid flight. The enlargement of this brain region responsible for visual processing indicates enhanced ability for perception and processing of fast-moving visual stimuli which hummingbirds encounter during rapid forward flight, insect foraging, competitive interactions, and high-speed courtship…
With the exception of insects, hummingbirds while in flight have the highest metabolism of all animals…Their heart rate can reach as high as 1,260 beats per minute,.. a breathing rate of 250 breaths per minute, even at rest… make use of ingested sugars to fuel energetically expensive hovering flight…Studies of hummingbirds' metabolisms are relevant to the question of how a migrating ruby-throated hummingbird can cross 800 km (500 mi) of the Gulf of Mexico on a nonstop flight. This hummingbird, like other birds preparing to migrate, stores fat as a fuel reserve, thereby augmenting its weight by as much as 100%, hence increasing potential flying time over open water…During a day of nectar consumption with corresponding high water intake that may total five times the body weight per day, hummingbird kidneys process water via glomerular filtration rates (GFR) in amounts proportional to water consumption, thereby avoiding over hydration... Consisting of chirps, squeaks, whistles and buzzes,
Hummingbirds have long lifespans for organisms with such rapid metabolisms. Though many die during their first year of life, especially in the vulnerable period between hatching and fledging, those that survive may occasionally live a decade or more.
…nest varies in size relative to the particular species—from smaller than half a walnut shell to several centimeters in diameter. Many hummingbird species use spider silk and lichen to bind the nest material together and secure the structure. The unique properties of the silk allow the nest to expand as the young hummingbirds grow Two white eggs are laid, which despite being the smallest of all bird eggs, are in fact large relative to the adult hummingbird's size. Incubation lasts 14 to 23 days, depending on the species, ambient temperature, and female attentiveness to the nest. The mother feeds her nestlings on small arthropods and nectar by inserting her bill into the open mouth of a nestling, and then regurgitating the food into its crop
Most hummingbirds of the U.S. and Canada migrate southward in fall to spend winter in Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, or Central America.”
From Wikipedia “Hummingbirds” Online 8-10-2017
Inserts, to clarify by JGL, are within (___). Please note that the online article has assumed evolutionary concepts not necessary to understand the bird itself. I believe that the complexity of design argues better philosophically for a designer. The fact that hummingbirds have territorial fights and are affected by diseases can also be put within the Creation concept of a beautiful initial design which has subsequently fallen into corruption (by sin). Both the Creation and Evolution Religio-philosophies use the same data to place the hummingbird into different world views. Again, I choose the Creation one.
See book section for more information: The Beauty of God's Creation in the Midst of Corruption.
They are known as hummingbirds because of the humming sound created by their beating wings which flap at high frequencies audible to humans. They hover in mid-air at rapid wing-flapping rates, typically around 50 times per second, allowing them also to fly at speeds exceeding 15 m/s (54 km/h; 34 mph).
Hummingbirds have the highest metabolism of any homeothermic animal. To conserve energy when food is scarce, and nightly when not foraging, they go into torpor, a state similar to hibernation, slowing metabolic rate to 1/15th of its normal rate.
…338 known species… (groups) the Topazes, Hermits, Mangoes, Brilliants, Coquettes, Patagona, Mountain Gems, Bees, and Emeralds, defining their relationship to nectar-bearing flowering plants and the birds' continued spread into new geographic areas…
Hummingbirds exhibit sexual size dimorphism (different sizes between sexes)…Hummingbirds' wing bones are hollow and fragile...(regarding eyesight) an exceptionally dense array of retinal neurons allowing for increased spatial resolution in the lateral and frontal visual fields. Morphological studies showed that neuronal hypertrophy, relatively the largest in any bird, exists in a brain region called the pretectal nucleus lentiformis mesencephali (or nucleus of the optic tract in mammals) responsible for refining dynamic visual processing while hovering and during rapid flight. The enlargement of this brain region responsible for visual processing indicates enhanced ability for perception and processing of fast-moving visual stimuli which hummingbirds encounter during rapid forward flight, insect foraging, competitive interactions, and high-speed courtship…
With the exception of insects, hummingbirds while in flight have the highest metabolism of all animals…Their heart rate can reach as high as 1,260 beats per minute,.. a breathing rate of 250 breaths per minute, even at rest… make use of ingested sugars to fuel energetically expensive hovering flight…Studies of hummingbirds' metabolisms are relevant to the question of how a migrating ruby-throated hummingbird can cross 800 km (500 mi) of the Gulf of Mexico on a nonstop flight. This hummingbird, like other birds preparing to migrate, stores fat as a fuel reserve, thereby augmenting its weight by as much as 100%, hence increasing potential flying time over open water…During a day of nectar consumption with corresponding high water intake that may total five times the body weight per day, hummingbird kidneys process water via glomerular filtration rates (GFR) in amounts proportional to water consumption, thereby avoiding over hydration... Consisting of chirps, squeaks, whistles and buzzes,
Hummingbirds have long lifespans for organisms with such rapid metabolisms. Though many die during their first year of life, especially in the vulnerable period between hatching and fledging, those that survive may occasionally live a decade or more.
…nest varies in size relative to the particular species—from smaller than half a walnut shell to several centimeters in diameter. Many hummingbird species use spider silk and lichen to bind the nest material together and secure the structure. The unique properties of the silk allow the nest to expand as the young hummingbirds grow Two white eggs are laid, which despite being the smallest of all bird eggs, are in fact large relative to the adult hummingbird's size. Incubation lasts 14 to 23 days, depending on the species, ambient temperature, and female attentiveness to the nest. The mother feeds her nestlings on small arthropods and nectar by inserting her bill into the open mouth of a nestling, and then regurgitating the food into its crop
Most hummingbirds of the U.S. and Canada migrate southward in fall to spend winter in Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, or Central America.”
From Wikipedia “Hummingbirds” Online 8-10-2017
Inserts, to clarify by JGL, are within (___). Please note that the online article has assumed evolutionary concepts not necessary to understand the bird itself. I believe that the complexity of design argues better philosophically for a designer. The fact that hummingbirds have territorial fights and are affected by diseases can also be put within the Creation concept of a beautiful initial design which has subsequently fallen into corruption (by sin). Both the Creation and Evolution Religio-philosophies use the same data to place the hummingbird into different world views. Again, I choose the Creation one.
See book section for more information: The Beauty of God's Creation in the Midst of Corruption.
RSS Feed