Amazing Birds

Food processor

The amazing ways birds breathe, process food, and conserve ­water are matched only by their astounding behavior
Contributed by Eldon Greij
Published: June 19, 2009
Founding Editor Eldon Greij describes how high body temperatures and high-energy foods enable birds to maintain an exceptionally high level of metabolism. Greij explains why winter fiches and hummingbirds enter torpor, how long it takes berries to pass through the digestive tracts of waxwings and thrushes, why birds' respiratory systems are more efficient than our own, and why birds don't have to drink as much as mammals.

Read more about Eldon Greij »
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August 2010
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