LYCOS RETRIEVER 
The Hummingbirds: Hours
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Hummingbirds in aviaries will sometimes fly back and forth at the top of the structure for long periods of time. The flight pattern can be short or long within the aviary. Many birds exhibit this restlessness during migration and the behavior is only temporary. At other times newly introduced birds will exhibit the same restlessness until they have settled in and formed territories. Another behavior hummingbirds will exhibit when perched is to fly up a foot or so and return to the perch. This type of jump up and sit back down flight can be repeated for hours and is only interrupted by feeding or a territorial dispute.
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In order to save energy during cold nights, hummingbirds will go into torpor. During torpor their body temperature decreases 20 to 30 degrees, their heartbeat can go below 50 beats per minute and their breathing becomes irregular. Most bird species are too large to use torpor to save energy since it would take too long and use too much energy to warm back up. It can take hummingbirds as long as an hour to come out of torpor, and if they are disturbed they cannot immediately resume normal activity.
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At the San Diego Zoo, most young hummingbirds are removed from the main exhibit with their female parent just prior to fledgling. This is accomplished by cutting the branch that supports the nest and chick and placing it in a "howdy cage"- a small portable cage measuring 30 inches x 18 inches x 18 inches. Soon after, the female will enter the cage to feed the chick and the door is closed. The cage is then moved to an off-exhibit area and placed in a planted weaning cage measuring 10 feet x 6 feet x 8 feet high. After about one hour the female is given access to the weaning cage. She will continue to feed the chick in the howdy cage until it fledges, usually within one or two days after the move.
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Perhaps the most amazing thing about the tiny hummingbird is its energy level. From a standing start, it can rev up its speed to an unbelievable sixty miles per hour in a distance of three feet. It has the highest energy output per unit of body weight of any animal in the world. According to the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences, a hovering hummingbird consumes about 726 Btu of energy per pound per hour. This is very close to the 750 Btu consumed by a helicopter in flight.
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The hummingbird's scrappiness is legendary, but their "no quarter," lightning-quick pursuit of intruders can send these feathery hotheads rushing 20 to 30 miles per hour into a window, a battle they never win. Sometimes they fly toward windows because they see and decide to attack their mirrored image. Other times, they're fleeing pursuit and slam into a reflected skyline with no give.
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Hummingbirds are small, most are no more than 3" long. They're fast and agile flyers. Able to fly forward at over 50 miles per hour, these guys can ... hover, fly up, down, sideways and even backwards!
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