Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Why some of the world’s zippiest birds go stiff and cold every night

Torpor saves energy for hummingbirds that live high in the Andes Mountains.
Black Metaltail Hummingbird (Metallura phoebe) feeding on flower nectar, Colca Canyon, Southern Andes, Peru.

The black metaltail hummingbird, which thrives in the high Andes, has set a new low-temperature record for birds. Credit: Tui De Roy/NPL

Some hummingbirds drink more than their own weight in nectar every day to power their energetically costly hovering flight and keep their tiny bodies warm. Astonishingly, however, hummingbirds can be found at up to 5,000 metres above sea level in the Andes Mountains of South America. How do they make it through the frosty nights?

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 585, 327 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02584-y

References

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links