Okay, but do hummingbirds ever chill?
E36. Hummingbirds run one of the fastest metabolisms of any animal with a backbone, which is why we picture them as permanently buzzing. Scott sits down with Dr. Anusha Shankar, assistant professor at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, who studies how hummingbirds budget energy in a world that keeps moving the goalposts. It turns out the blur at your feeder is the exception, not the rule.
In this episode you'll hear about:
Why the same bird might spend three hours a day flying, or thirteen, depending entirely on what the flowers are doing
What happens overnight when a hummingbird…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.