Hummingbirds Live an Extreme Lifestyle Thriving on All Sugar Diet That Would Put Us in a Coma

Tiny hummingbirds live life on a knife-edge, sometimes shut down their bodies almost completely to conserve energy.

Their nectar-rich diet leads to blood sugar levels that would put a person in a coma.

When a bird is in danger of running out of energy, it may go torpid at night , dropping its body temperature.

Hummingbirds cope with high blood sugar levels by having leaky guts to get sugar out of the gut quickly.

The birds have evolved to be remarkably nimble at switching their metabolism from sugar-burning to fat-burning.

Hummingbird kidneys are highly adapted to recapture electrolytes before they are excreted.

Giant hummingbirds are large enough that researchers can attach satellite tracking tags.

As tracking technology becomes lighter and cheaper, researchers like Williamson hope to follow smaller hummingbird species as well. That, together with other progress in research technology, may offer plenty of new surprises about the biology of these tiny, amazing birds. SHARE The Ups And Downs Of This Animal’s Wild Lifestyle With Your Friends.