Dinesh

Dinesh club

Posted: 19 Jul 2013


Taken: 31 Jul 2011

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THE REASON FOR FLOWERS


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Humming Bird

Humming Bird
Many hummingbirds spend the winter in Central America or Mexico, and migrate north to their breeding grounds in the southern United States as early as February, and to areas further north later in the spring.

Hummingbirds fly by day when nectar sources such as flowers are more abundant. Flying low allows the birds to see, and stop at, food supplies along the way. They are also experts at using tail winds to help reach their destination faster and by consuming less energy and body fat. Research indicates a hummingbird can travel as much as 23 miles in one day.

During migration, a hummingbird's heart beats up to 1,260 times a minute, and its wings flap 15 to 80 times a second. To support this high energy level, a hummingbird will typically gain 25-40% of their body weight before they start migration in order to make the long trek over land, and water.


The first arrivals in spring are usually males. Some, however, do not migrate, in areas like California and the upper Pacific coast, the southern parts of the Gulf of Mexico states, and some along the southern Atlantic Ocean area

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 Dinesh
Dinesh club
Whirring Wings

If you live in North America, you may have witnessed the incredible fights and flower visits of those tiny marvels the hummingbirds (Trochilidae). Weighing only 0.07 to 0.70 punches ( a penny weighs just 0.08 ounce) and beating their wings at up to two hundred times per second, they are the only birds able to hover, fly backward, or upside down. With their diminutive size and outlandish metabolism, they constantly need energy, the sugar rush they get from floral nectar. To be able to sleep and not perish at night from starvation, they tune down their metabolism and become torpid, their heart beat and breathing slowing down. Each morning breaking their nighttime torpor, they go in search of new flowers to power their flight and sustain their lives. ~ Page 69


THE REASON FOR FLOWERS
12 months ago. Edited 12 months ago.

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