On 2014-07-18 8:56 AM, jmcquown wrote:

>> A few years ago I was at a friend's house and there was a humingbird
>> bird perched on a wire strung across the rafters in his garage. We sat
>> there and watched it for about 15 minutes. We knew we would never get
>> another chance to see something like that again.
>>
> Hummingbirds have to eat all day in order to survive the night. When
> night falls they go to roost. They fall into a state of torpor. You
> cannot wake them up. Their bodies practically shut down to conserve
> energy. Their temperature drops. It's like suspended animation. As
> the sun comes up they warm up. They gradually come out of the torpor.
> Then they're off again for another day of eating. They are very
> interesting little birds. Cute as can be to watch, too. :-D
>

That was the odd thing. It was the middle of the afternoon. It was
awake. It looked around. It was a warm day, the garage door was wide
open. I had never before seen a hummingbird perched like that. I had
only seen them buzzing abut or hovering by the flowers. It was such a
rare event that we just sat there and watching it. It is more typical to
be outside and to catch a glimpse of one for a moment.