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A hummingbird can fly backwards, and its heart can beat over 1,000 times a minute.

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The story behind the card

Hummingbirds, found only in the Americas, are the only birds that can hover for long periods and fly backwards. Their wings trace a figure of eight in the air, and small species beat them up to about 80 times a second. All this takes enormous energy: in flight a hummingbird's heart can beat more than 1,000 times a minute, among the fastest heartbeats of any animal. To get through the night without running out of fuel, many species enter torpor, a deep, cold state like a short hibernation. Heart rate and body temperature fall sharply, sometimes close to the temperature of the surrounding air, and the bird uses far less energy until morning.

Türkçe oku
Sinekkuşları geri geri uçabilir ve kalpleri dakikada 1.000 kereden fazla atabilir.

Yalnızca Amerika kıtasında yaşayan sinekkuşları, havada uzun süre asılı kalabilen ve geri geri uçabilen tek kuşlardır. Kanatları havada sekiz çizer; küçük türler kanatlarını saniyede 80 kez kadar çırpar. Bu uçuş çok büyük enerji ister: Uçarken sinekkuşunun kalbi dakikada 1.000'den fazla atabilir; bu, hayvanlar âlemindeki en hızlı kalp atışlarından biridir. Birçok tür, geceyi enerjisi tükenmeden atlatmak için torpor denen derin ve soğuk bir uyuşukluğa, bir tür kısa kış uykusuna girer. Kalp atışı ve vücut sıcaklığı hızla düşer, kimi zaman dış havanın sıcaklığına yaklaşır; kuş da sabaha kadar çok daha az enerji harcar.

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