- What is torpor? It is a state similar to hibernation. It is a type of deep sleep where an animal lowers its hart and metabolic rate. Hummingbirds must enter this state to ensure that the birds won’t actually starve to death before down
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During a state of torpor, a hummingbird will lower its body temperature between 20-50 degrees. This enables the bird to conserve energy on cold nights or anytime that food might be scarce.
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While in a state of torpor, hummingbirds can even lower their heart rate from 500 beats per minute to as few as 50 beats per minute.
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Also as part of their efforts to conserve energy, the hummingbird may even stop breathing for periods of time.
Hummingbirds For Mom