I have a humming bird feeder in my patio. I like to watch them. They are fascinating birds. My black cat, Rambo, stealthily creeps around stalking the birds, but has never caught one to my knowledge.
The little critters zip about with their little wings flapping so fast they are just a blur.
But the burning question in my mind is “Do humming birds sleep?”
As the twilight darkens the birds’ visit to the feeder tail off in frequency and ends.
Where do they go and remain until the dawn?
Apparently they do sleep. A Google search on the burning issue reveals:
Hummingbirds sleep with their neck retracted and their head forward, the bill pointed up at a sharp angle, and the feathers fluffed. On cold nights some hummers go into a torpor. [Humming Bird World]
Get the answer to one question and another rises. What is torpor? New word for me. It means “The dormant, inactive state of a hibernating or estivating animal.”
See what I mean about getting one answer which raises another? What does estivating mean? “To pass the summer in a dormant or torpid state.”
Now I can rest in peace. Humming birds do sleep, but where exactly I have no idea.
Related posts:
I found a hummingbird sleeping in a faux mini palm tree once at a Gemco store … long ago and far away … I think they sleep where ever they feel safe … I took the little critter outside and set him free …