Altitude and temperature effects on the energetic cost of hover-feeding in migratory rufous hummingbirds,Selasphorus rufus

Abstract

During migratory stopovers, rufous hummingbirds ( Selasphorus rufus (Gmelin, 1788)) can achieve high daily rates of net energy intake and mass gain while foraging at a range of elevations and ambient temperatures, despite the high energetic costs of hovering flight and thermoregulation. To gain insights into the factors affecting the energetic costs incurred during foraging, we captured migratory hummingbirds and measured their oxygen consumption rates during hover-feeding. Measurements were performed in situ where rufous hummingbirds forage as they migrate at several locations along a gradient in elevation and over the range of ambient temperatures normally experienced. Oxygen consumption rates during hover-feeding varied between the sexes and between juveniles and adults. These differences appeared to reflect differences in the power requirements for hovering flight in relation to variation in wing morphology. Decreasing ambient temperature and increasing elevation both significantly increased oxygen consumption rate during hover-feeding. The effects of these two environmental variables were additive, suggesting that hummingbird thermoregulatory requirements were not met by the additional heat produced by the higher metabolic rate necessary to support hovering flight at higher elevation. These results provide insight into the ways different foraging strategies may allow hummingbirds to maximize net energy intake.